Ripples of Deceit
by Waterlilies
Summary: AU Complete. The majestic parties were a figment of the past, but some say they still hear music drifting over the lake. 1xR, 2xH
1. First Sight

  
  
Hi everyone, here's another AU fic of mine.  It's basically set during the late Victorian era of the 1890s and the places are fictitious.  Sorry about this short chapter, it always takes me forever to setup the plot line, but this is just only the beginning.  Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters.  But, the plot is mine.  Anyhow, hope you all like this and please let me know what you think and thank you.  ^_^  
  


**_First Sight_**

  
~*~  
  


  
"Come on, Relena, will be late arriving at Winfield.  The carriages are already waiting for us."  A door slammed after her.  
  


  
"Alright, mother, let me just gather my things."  She began to go through her closet and picked out several corsets, evening lingerie, afternoon dresses, shoes, and a variety of silk chiffon dresses ranging in a multitude of colors.  She didn't see why her parents always took her along for their summer vacations.  Every weekend, her mother would host evening dances in their summer home, where her mother would introduce her to possible suitors.  She hated the thought of her mother picking her future husband.  A knock was heard on the door, "Who is it?"  
  


  
"It's Pagan, miss."  
  


  
She quickly ran to the door and opened it for the old man.  
  


  
"I brought you some extra suitcases."  
  


  
"Thank you.  Are my parents still outside waiting in their carriage?"  
  


  
He nodded and waited tentatively for her to finish packing.  
  


  
"I think this should do it."  She managed to stuff her clothing in three suitcases, being careful not to wrinkle them to an extent, where they would have to be re-ironed especially the dresses.  
  


  
"You do have your accessory kit with you."  
  
  


"Yes, I do," she smiled.  
  


  
"And your gloves for the evening dances?"  
  


  
She nodded in response.  Before she left the room, she donned on a hat that was accented with a blue satin ribbon at the back, which matched with her dress.  The two then clambered down the wooden stairs with Pagan and her, each carrying luggage in their hands.  They finally emerged to where the carriages were waiting for Relena.  Within minutes, her luggage was secured on the second carriage and before she entered, she lightly kissed Pagan on the cheek.  "You take care now."  
  


  
"I will."  With that, he watched Relena step into the carriage and he waved to her.  He then heard the coachmen giving the orders to start the horses, and in minutes, Relena was out of his sight.  "I'm going to miss that girl."  
  


  
~ * ~  
  


  
"Do you think Relena will like the one I chose for her?"  
  


  
"Katrina, you should stay out of her love life."  He looked towards at his wife, who was somewhat appalled of his response.  
  


  
"All I want is for our daughter to be well off in life.  I mean he's close to her age and he comes from a respectable family that we both met last year.  I believe he's already attending Yale."  
  


  
"I just hope you know what you're doing.  I don't want to repeat what happened with our eldest son."  
  


  
"Don't you have any faith in me, darling?"  
  


  
He then gave his wife a kiss and for the rest of the ride, the two glanced out the open windows, admiring the maple and cottonwood trees that dotted the roadway once in a while.  
  


  
Meanwhile, Relena was quietly reading to herself an Emily Brontë novel, Wuthering Heights.  She was about midway through when she felt the carriage slowing down to a halt on a bumpy road.  
  


  
"We're here, miss."  
  


  
Right before her eyes stood her family's summer home with its Corinthian columns adorning the front along with the elegant glass windows shining in the late afternoon.  It still looked the same from the previous summers with its pink rose bushes dotting the walkway.  She stepped out of the carriage and admired the scent coming from the nearby pine trees and the lake.  A breeze ran against her blue dress and she quickly placed her right hand on her hat to keep it from blowing away in the unnerving wind.  She then walked to her parents, who were already walking towards the front of their home.  
  


  
"I hope you enjoyed the ride."  A hidden smiled was seen on her mother's face.  
  


  
"Yes, I did.  I'll be going up to my room now.  May I please be excused?"  
  


  
"Go on, Relena.  Dinner will be served later this evening."  
  


  
She quickly walked up to the front patio stairs of their home and entered through the front door.  The air in the room was fresh and that the southerly breeze blew through the main hallway that was adorned with wooden frames and with oriental rugs.  She passed a couple of servants that were arranging some flowers in small glass vases.  "Welcome back, Ms. Peacecraft."  A woman about thirty looked up from her floral arrangement.  Her black hair was tied neatly into a bun.  
  


  
"Thanks, Trudy." She watched Trudy come near her and the two conversed with one another. "It seems like ages that I last saw you, how have you been doing?"  
  


  
"Fine, Ms. Peacecraft.  I'll show you to your room.  I kept it the way you wanted."  The two women slowly walked up to the second floor and within the upstairs hallway, an endless red rug extended to both ends of the hallway with small lights dotting on both sides of the walls.  The two turned to the left after reaching the top of the stairs and after passing three oak doors, Trudy finally led Relena to her summer bedroom.  "Well here it is.  If you need anything, you know where you can find me.  I'm glad that you're back."  She then left Relena at the front of her bedroom door.  
  


  
Relena slowly turned the brass knob and peeped into her room.  Trudy was right about her room.  Her windows were decorated with intricate lace curtains, while her bed was covered in white linen sheets.  Her dresser was adorned with a simplistic oil lamp along with small mementos of her childhood.  As for her makeup table, it was situated by the windows with her accessory kit already lying on top of it.  "You might as well get use to this again…home away from home" she whispered to herself.  She moved her luggage that were already brought up minutes before and unpacked their contents.  She then took off her hat and shoes, and immediately fell onto her bed in hopes of catching a nap before dinner started.  The ride to Winfield was two hours and she needed some sleep after reading endlessly during the carriage ride.  She slowly drifted into a light sleep, as she watched the sun's rays shift on her flower-printed walls.  
  


  
Before long, a knock was heard on her door, "Ms. Peacecraft, dinner is served in the main dining area."  
  


  
"Thanks, Trudy, I'll be right there."  Relena slowly arose from her bed and went to her accessory kit.  She opened the small case and pulled out her silver hairbrush and combed her soft wavy hair.  Afterwards, she quickly walked down the stairs to meet up with her parents.  
  


  
"There you are," replied her father.  "I take it you enjoyed a quiet nap."  
  


  
"I did."  She seated herself at the end of the mahogany table, where her parents were seated.  The three quietly ate their three-course meal that consisted of a creamy tomato soup, meatloaf with steamed carrots, and a slice of vanilla cake frosted to perfection.  
  


  
Katrina was sipping her tea when she decided to strike up a conversation with her daughter. "I found a nice suitor for you."  
  


  
"Excuse me..."  She choked on a sip of lemonade.  
  


  
"He's about your age and he's currently attending Yale."  
  


  
"But you didn't confer with me in the first place about this."  Fear began to seep into her heart, knowing that her life could be changed in a matter of moments.  "I can't believe this.  I'm not like you."  She abruptly left the dining room to escape from her mother's control.  
  


  
"But..."  She looked over to her husband, who gave a disapproving look at her.  
  


  
Relena quickly entered the kitchen and traversed the back end of the house.  Luckily, she didn't have to encounter any of the servants, as she made her way to the back patio.  She lifted the small latch on the door and walked into the vast emptiness of her back yard.  In the distance, the lake gleamed under the moonlight.  "I can't believe her, there she goes again, trying to persuade me to marry soon. I just wish...I could decide for myself."  She continued to walk down a dirt path leading towards the lake, being careful not to trip over hidden twigs that may lie in the dirt.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
"So how was your trip from New York?"  
  


  
"It was fine."  
  


  
"I heard that you were on some family business, but what really happened there?"  
  


  
"Nothing," he said sharply.  
  


  
The two men carried wine glasses in their hands.  The red liquid reflected the pale moonlight.  
  


  
"It looks like the Peacecrafts are back for the summer.  Their carriages lined the front of their mansion today.  I guess we'll be hearing music from them every weekend from now until the end of summer."  He kicked a lose pebble in front of him.  
  


  
The two continued to walk by the lake and one of them kept stumbling over rocks and pebbles.  In the distance, they both saw a slender figure emerge from the dense forest that lined the other side of the lake.  Within a blink of the eye, the figure disappeared again into the darkness.  
  


  
"Was that an apparition?"  He blinked a couple of times.  
  


  
"No...that was probably Ms. Relena herself.  She sometimes comes to this lake at night, you know."  He looked over to his friend, who kept eyeing the distant location where Relena emerged.  "We should be heading back before we're too drunk to walk at all."  
  


  
The two continued their mini stroll up along a broad dirt path that led towards another Victorian styled home but with simpler ionic columns that stood against the dark summer night.  
  


  
TBC


	2. The Encounter

Disclaimers apply here: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.   
  


  
**_The Encounter  
  
_**

  
~*~  
  


  
It was the day that Relena dreaded, within hours she would meet her suitor if all goes well at her mother's weekend dance.  She quickly walked over to her open window and looked out.  The land was still shrouded in a light layer of fog and mist.  "Perfect," she whispered.  Within minutes, she quickly dressed herself in her riding outfit and slowly crept down to the first floor.  She headed out the front door, being careful not to have it slam against the doorframe, which would cause her parents to wake from their sleep.   
  


  
Once she was outside, she made a sharp left and walked on a gravel road leading to the family's stable.  The white building stood in simplicity as contrasted to the family's vast mansion.  Before long, Relena slowly opened one of its large doors and pulled it to the side.  Inside, dust floated freely about in the musty room, but she was looking around to find her favorite horse.  She noticed a familiar pair of eyes staring back at her and headed over to the back of the stable.   
  


  
"Hey girl, you missed me?"  She held out her right hand that concealed small sugar cubes.  The horse quickly licked the small token from her hand and nayed in response.  She led her chestnut mare out of its stall and prepared for her morning ride.  "Its look like a nice morning for a little ride.  I bet you can't wait to get out and run a little."  She gently patted its forehead and groomed it before placing the black saddle onto its back.  "Alright, girl, here we go," and with that, she gently nudged her horse to move forward.   
  


  
The two slowly trotted across her family's vast estate on the calm cool morning, admiring the terrain with its morning dew.  The sun hadn't risen from the eastern horizon yet, but Relena rode her horse to a small hill overlooking the lake below them, the fog slowly lifting up from its waters.  Right before them, the golden orange rays bathed the two of them in its warm light.  "I think it's about time for a canter." She then urged her horse back down and before long, hues of green passed before her, as she felt her horse move faster.   
  


  
Right then, Relena allowed herself to be caught up from the previous night's events as her mother's voice boomed over her conscience,  "I found a nice suitor for you."  The thought continued to sicken her and she continued to urge her chestnut mare to run even faster.  With that, she felt the winds blow through her blond hair and the adrenaline rushing through her veins.  At that moment, she dropped all of her worries and felt relieved in a way that her mother was not near her for the time being.   
  


  
She then tugged lightly at the reins and guided the mare to a grove of trees.  Once there, she ordered her mare to a canter again, in which the pair dodged in between trees.  It was a game that the two enjoyed, but suddenly a black horse appeared in front of her out of nowhere. Relena had only a few seconds to respond before the two horses would collide into one another.  With that she pulled back the reins as tightly as she could.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
"Relena, where are you?"  Her mother called out over endlessly, but she didn't hear a response from her daughter.  She kept on walking in the darkness and every so often, fog clouds enveloped her, as she began to become frantic.  "Relena, where are you?"  The echo from her plea continued to resonate in the background. Eventually, she heard waves crashing against a rocky shore, which she recognized.  She screamed in frustration that she couldn't find Relena anywhere and collapsed onto the jagged shoreline.  
  


  
"What's wrong, Katrina?  You woke me with your scream of yours."  He looked towards his wife, who was pale and her forehead was dotted with small sweat drops.  
  


  
Her voice was shaky at first, "Where's Relena?"  
  


  
"I think she's still in her room.  It's only six o'clock in the morning right now."  
  


  
"You sure?"  
  


  
"Don't you think she might still be sleeping in her room since we arrived here yesterday and that she wants to avoid everyone still because of your evening ball for tonight?"  
  


  
"I guess your right."  She lightly kissed him on his cheek.  
  


  
"Now let me sleep for a few more minutes, please."  
  


  
"Alright dear."  With that, Katrina closed her eyes, but a feeling kept surfacing in her thoughts about her daughter.  It was a nightmare that wasn't going to go away any time soon.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
"Calm down girl, I'm right here. Easy now."  Relena continued to hold a firm grasp on the reins, as her horse began to panic. Before long, her horse became agitated and threw her onto the ground and she lay on left side with her left arm extending above her head.   
  


  
The horse continued its rampage among the trees and with that, the bystander look to where Relena laid.  He quickly ran over to her side and noticed that she was unconscious.  He was about to lift her up when the chestnut mare ran towards the two.  His eyes narrowed and let out a sigh of frustration towards the horse.  Her eyes were filled with rage and fright at the same time and this time, she had her front legs up in the air, ready to trample the two on the ground.   
  


  
He quickly stood up and spread his arms to the side of him, in hopes of calming the mare down.  She held her front legs up into the air again and this time, he dodged the attack being mindful of keeping the mare away from Relena.  With that, he grabbed hold of the reins that dangled in front of the mare and calmed it down, by staring into its black eyes.  In an instant, the mare quieted down and began to graze near a small patch of grass at the base of one of the trees.  
  


  
He headed over towards Relena's location and noticed that she was still unconscious.  He walked over to where his horse was and grabbed a canteen from his saddlebag and carried it to where Relena was.  He uncapped the circular container and poured the cool liquid onto his hand.  With that, he dropped the liquid onto her face, hoping to wake her, but it proved useless, so he thought.  He then bent down on his knees and was about to give her a breath of air.  His lips hovered an inch away from hers, but then he felt a sharp pain near his groin and reeled over in shock.  
  


  
"What do you think you are doing? Get away from me, whoever you are."  She slowly got up from the ground and made sure that she kept her distance from the stranger, who now stood up against a tree.  She noticed that his eyes were filled with shock and frustration at the same time.  
  


  
"You fell off from your horse and I protected you."   
  


  
Relena's defenses slowly dropped and she then realized her mistake of attacking her savior, "I'm sorry about that...thank you for your assistance."  
  


  
He then went over to where her horse was and grabbed the reins.  "You should handle your horse more carefully."  He continued to give a cold gaze towards her.  
  


  
Relena decided to change the subject, "What is your name?"  
  


  
"Heero Yuy."  
  


  
"I'm..." She was cut off before she could finish her sentence.  
  


  
"I know who you are.  You should be more careful, Ms. Peacecraft."  He went over to his horse and climbed into his saddle.  Before long, he disappeared into the trees, only leaving Relena and her mare behind.  
  


  
"He seems to be cold sometimes."  Relena patted her horse's face and led it by the reins to a shaded region of the meadow.  She watched her horse graze for a couple of minutes.  She kept thinking of Heero's cold stare, which mesmerized her for no apparent reason.  Maybe this was the excuse she needed to break apart from her mother's grasp in her marital life.  She role played the thought of how her mother would react to her news of finding someone else and imitated in her mother's voice, "Relena Peacecraft, what on earth do you think you are doing!  I bring you into this world and this is how you repay me!"  She continued to muse to herself unaware that Heero was watching her from a distance.  Her horse then nudged her, alerting her that the two should get back to the stable, before all hell breaks lose in the Peacecraft household.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
Katrina decided to head over to Relena's room to inform her that breakfast was ready.  She gently knocked on the door being mindful of not to intrude too much on her daughter.  "Relena, dear, breakfast is ready."  She stood outside the bedroom for a couple of minutes.  "Relena?"  She decided to take matters into her own hands and entered her daughter's room.  Once she was inside, she noticed that her bed was already made, but Relena was nowhere in sight.  "Where could she have run off to now?"  
  


  
"What, mother?"  She was standing right behind her.  
  


  
"Don't you dare scare me like that!  You know how I can't stand it, it just makes my heart skip a beat."  
  


  
"Maybe I should do this more often, then?"   
  


  
Katrina decided to change the subject, "Look at you, where have you been?  Your hair is a mess along with your dress.  You know what today is, right?"  
  


  
"Yes I do, mother.  And for your information, I was out riding today and I was thrown off from my horse, and thanks for asking."  She watched her mother's mouth drop slightly and waited for her next response, which would most likely refer to the evening ball instead of her accident.  
  


  
"Well, breakfast is downstairs in the dining room.  You'll have to prepare for the night's festivities soon."  
  


  
"Yes, mother."  With that, she watched her mother leave her room and Relena soon followed after her for breakfast.  "This is going to be a great day."  She could already hear the servants and maids scramble around the mansion in preparing for the evening ball.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
The hours seemed to mesh within each other as Relena prepared for the night's festivities.  Her mother was in her room helping her get dressed.  She was standing by her dresser with her right hand firmly grasping an edge of the dresser, as her mother made the finishing adjustments to her corset.  She could hardly breath nor move in it, since the fabric squeezed her small frame and lifted her chest upwards.   
  


  
"I think you're tightening it, a little too much, mother."  She heard the laces looping through the holes on the back of her corset, as her mother tightened them even more.  
  


  
"I think it's just fine.  Besides, you do want to look your best in front of our guests and for your suitor.  I mean he is from a well respected family."  She then went over to Relena's closet and chose a light pink chiffon dress that had a scooped neckline with puffy sleeves that would serve as her evening gown.  She handed her the dress and within minutes, Relena was dressed in pink.  Her hair was then divided into three long strands that were intertwined into a knot, which formed fluffy ringlets.  With that, her coiffeur was then adorned with a satin pink ribbon to complement her dress.  
  


  
"Now don't forget to wear your full length white gloves."  
  


  
"I won't mother."  She went over to her dresser and pulled out the pair, just to show her mother that she wouldn't forget.  Her mother then left her in the room and with that, she quickly locked the door behind her mother, just in case she wanted to get into the room again.  She walked to one of her open windows that blew the lace curtains around her, the sun was already setting into the west and soon it would be nightfall, which meant that the carriages from the surrounding areas will be here for her mother's dance.  "Here we go again, the endless sounds of gossip." She looked blankly at the setting orange sun and thought about the morning's events that kept playing over and over again in her mind.

***Flashback***

She felt his breath cascading down her face, but she didn't dare to move, in case he tried to hurt her.  It was the closet encounter she had with any man before.  And with that, she waited for the right moment to "knee" him when he least expected from his victim.  She saw his eyes flash with intensity as she looked up into his.  His stare was calculating, yet it was filled with something that she hadn't felt before.  It was his stare that she kept daydreaming on.

***End of flashback***

  
A knock from the door brought Relena out of her daydreaming.  "The guests are now arriving in the main dance hall.  Your mother instructed me to come and get you."  
  


  
"I'm coming Trudy."  She quickly slipped her white gloves onto her hands and unlocked the door.   
  


  
"Your dress looks exquisite, Ms. Peacecraft."  
  


  
Relena nodded a kind thank you towards her maid.  "Mother picked this dress for me."   
  


  
"I see."  The two women made their way down the stairs and towards the dance hall that was connected to their Victorian home.  Trudy guided Relena towards the wooden doors that had glass windows engraved in them.  Relena peaked into a small section of the glass and inside the room, she saw couples already dancing on the wooden floor in their evening attire.  Some of the women wore feathers in their hair in a similar hairstyle like hers.  Their gowns were fashioned in a variety of styles, in which some of the dresses were decorated with fancy beadwork, while others were decorated with colored ribbons.  Overall, the usual puffy sleeves were the most prominent among the ladies that were dancing.  "Good luck," whispered Trudy.  She then left Relena's side and minded her own business during the night.  
  


  
Relena continued to stare through the glass window and she noticed that her mother was already talking to a gentleman wearing a black tail coat that covered his white formal shirt that had a wing tip collar and a black bow tie.  She continued to strain her eyes to see his features, but all she could see was that he had blond hair neatly combed back.  Her pulse began to quicken and she immediately put her back to the wall, as her breathing became rapid.  She heard her mother calling from the room, "I'll have Relena meet you right now."  Right then, she quickly left and walked into one of the vast meeting rooms that the house showcased on its main floor.  She peeped through the doorframe with the oak door slightly jarred open and saw her mother emerged from the dance hall.  Her yellow silk chiffon dress seemed to engulf the space around her.  
  


  
Footsteps were coming closer to the room, where Relena was hiding in, and she knew that she was trapped, since the room didn't have another exit.  Her heart began to pulse rapidly and she heard the oak door creak.  She immediately backed away from the door.  
  


  
"There you are, I've been looking around for you."  Her mother gazed sternly at her.   
  


  
"I don't want to meet him."  
  


  
"Stop acting silly.  I mean he has been waiting anxiously for you in the dance hall.  You don't want to keep him waiting, it's not polite."  
  


  
"Whoever it is, I don't want to see him.  I don't want to be used to secure your social status."  She looked towards her mother, who stood dumbfounded at her daughter's rebellious attitude.  
  


  
"Relena Peacecraft," her mother said harshly, "I'm just trying to secure your future."   
  


  
Relena then walked away from her mother and headed straight towards the door, where she was met by the gentleman.  "Hello, miss."  He bowed in front of her and she quickly stepped back.  But before she walked too far into the room, her mother led her back to the gentleman that stood in front of them.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
Heero sat lazily in the library alcove of Duo's home for most of the afternoon and evening.  He was sipping more wine and contemplated quietly to himself.  The events from the morning played through his mind over and over again.  He remembered scaring her horse, which eventually threw her off from her saddle.  He realized that he could have killed her right then, if she had landed improperly onto the ground.  He somehow protected her unknowingly from her frightened horse, but at the same time, he used his cold gaze to distance himself from Relena.  What was this feeling that kept nagging within his conscience?  He finished consuming the rest of the wine in his glass and fell asleep in the chair he was seated at.  
  


  
In his mind, flashes of his trip to New York began to occur within his mind.  Earlier in his trip, he had stopped by his father's law firm, telling his father that he wouldn't be joining him for the summer.  He then remembered his father scolding him for his poor judgment and his father then said his last threat, "You're no longer an heir to the family fortune.  Get out!!"  Then there was another scene, in which he was sitting at a local bar, drinking away his family problems.  But then a blurred face of somebody kept reappearing in his mind.  Who was it?  Before he could tell who it was, he was being shaken by somebody's hand.  
  


  
"Hey there, are you alright?  You haven't been your self lately."  
  


  
"I'm fine," he muttered.  He began to get up from his seat, when all of a sudden, the room seemed to spin around him.  
  


  
"Well, I think I should lock up the wine stock for awhile."  He looked at his friend questioningly.  He decided to change the subject again, "I noticed that you got up early this morning."  
  


  
Heero slowly nodded from his seat again.  "I took your horse out for a ride and I saw her this morning."  
  


  
"You mean, Relena?"   
  


  
He nodded again in response.  
  


  
Duo sarcastically said, "So, you're already hitting on the ladies?"  
  


  
Heero didn't respond to his question.  Instead he looked towards the window, where a cool breeze was filtering through.  The sounds of violins were heard in the background among the chirping crickets.

  
  
"Well, there's the music from the Peacecraft residence, which I told you about."  For some odd reason, Duo knew that Heero wasn't paying attention to what he said.  "I have an idea, let's join in on the party.  I mean we both have our evening attire in our rooms and you might be able to see her."  He looked over to his friend again to see if there was any reaction and he noticed that he became a little more alert.  "Well what are we waiting for then... a personal invite."  The two men then left the library alcove and headed towards their rooms to change.  
  


  
Within minutes, the two were ready to walk over to the Peacecraft residence, each sporting the black tail coat with white collars and black bow ties.  After the two had walked for nearly a quarter of a mile, they finally reached the front doors of the expanse mansion that loomed before them.  A butler greeted them at the door and presumed that the two were invited by Mrs. Peacecraft, "Good evening, gentlemen, the dance hall is just down this hallway."  He pointed to the right side of him, where the music was resonating within the hallway.  The two stepped in and made their way to the dance hall.  
  


  
Before long, the two were standing in front of the doors leading into the dance hall.  "Well, here goes nothing."  Duo pulled back the brass door knobs and the two were met with a rush of cool air that came from the back of the room.  To their amazement, the hall had two main chandeliers situated equidistantly from each other in the center of the room.  Their lights glowed brightly against the golden surfaces of the chandeliers.   
  


  
"I don't see her," replied Duo.  He was already catching the eyes of a couple of ladies.  He smiled back to them.  
  


  
Heero nodded in response and decided to stand off to the corner of the room, just trying not to attract too much attention.  Right then, a lady in red satin walked over towards him and looked admiringly towards him to get his attention.  She fanned herself with a fan decorated with a red ribbon.  At first, Heero bowed to her, "Excuse me."  He then left her standing by an empty table in the corner of the room, her eyes filled with shock at his rejection.   
  


  
~*~  
  


  
"I'll leave you two alone now."  Right then, she saw her mother leave the room with a smile on her face.  
  


  
Relena walked over to a blue couch that was situated by a window and looked out towards the night sky.  
  


  
"They are lovely tonight, aren't they?"  
  


  
"Yes."  She felt someone sitting next to her, which made her feel even more uncomfortable. She immediately got up from her seat. "Sorry, I'm just a little nervous."  
  


  
"Same here."  He looked towards her with pleading eyes.  "I'm guessing that your mother put you up to this."  
  


  
She nodded in response.  
  


  
"Same here.  I'm glad that I got that confession out into the open."  
  


  
"Didn't we meet last year at one of my mother's weekend dances?  You look familiar."   
  


  
He nodded in response.  "I'm Quatre Winner."  
  


  
"So that's who you are, I knew I recognized you from somewhere."  
  


  
The two became silent again, each of them hoping that this arrangement would somehow fall apart.  Quatre sensed that Relena was hiding something from him.  Yes, he was attending Yale to become a chemist, but he was also good at reading someone's feelings.  It finally occurred to him that Relena's heart was with someone else perhaps.  "I don't know if I should go into your personal life, but it seems to me that you like someone else rather than me."  
  


  
Her eyes then widened a little, since she knew that Quatre was close in his statement and theory.  "How do you know?"  
  


  
"It's just a guess of mine."  Another brief moment of silence washed across the two, "Can we just be friends, instead?  It seems that our mothers placed too much pressure on the two us and it doesn't seem right, at all."  
  


  
The question was painless and straightforward, but she felt a burden lift from her heart, "I can agree to that…thank you."  
  


  
"You're welcome."  The two then walked out of the drawing room together.  "Do you think our mothers will suspect that their plan didn't go out as planned?"  
  


  
"I wouldn't care, but they'll probably force us to reconsider our decision."  She saw her mother appear from the corner of the hallway, "Sorry, mother, but we've decided to be friends only."  The two parted at the entrance of the dance hall with Quatre entering back into the room, while Relena went towards the back patio to avoid her mother's wrath.  
  


  
Her mother stood in the hallway infuriated with her daughter's decision.  "Now, now Katrina, our daughter has made a decision on her own.  You can't take that away from her."  Her husband stood next to her, trying to calm down his fretting wife.  
  


  
"Nineteen years of my life raising her to be a lady and this is how she repays me."  
  


  
"I'm glad that she has made her own choice."  The two stood silent before he had the courage to speak again, "Now come my dear, your guests are waiting for you to make another appearance."  He held out his right arm towards her and she slowly accepted it as with Relena's decision not to court with Quatre to a certain degree.   
  


  
~*~  
  


  
The door silently closed after her, as she stepped out into the summer night air.  The fireflies flew sporadically throughout the backyard.  "I'm glad that's over."  She let out a soft sigh under her breath and walked out into the night.  She was a few feet away from the dirt path that led towards the lake, but she felt like she was being watched.  "Who's there?"  She decided to turn back and when she did, she bumped into a familiar person.  She noticed that his eyes pierced the darkness. "Oh...it's you again."  
  


  
TBC


	3. A Match Made

Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.  
  


  
**_A Match Made_**_   
  
_

  
~*~  
  


  
"A lady like you shouldn't be walking alone at night."  
  


  
Relena had taken a step back and stumbled into a tree.  "Why are you here?  I nearly didn't recognize you in this darkness."  
  


  
"I came to see how things were going for you."  His voice was calm and deep.  He looked towards her and noticed that her faint pink dress looked more like a pale white in the darkness.  
  


  
"I'm doing fine, but father keeps wondering about you.  He seems to regret the day that mother drove you out of the house just because of your refusal to her plans.  How is Lucrezia doing?"  
  


  
"She's doing fine.  I can see that nothing has changed since the day I left.  It seems like mother is up to her usual routine."  
  


  
"You can say that again...how long have you been here?"  
  


  
"Lucrezia and I just arrived here three days ago.  We're just passed the old Coopers' place.  I believe there is a new family living there currently, since the pastures around the farm were cleared."  
  


  
The two then followed a run-downed footpath leading to the lake.  
  


  
"I see you still come down here."  
  


  
"It's our secret place...well sort of... minus the fact that mother knows about this too.  Remember the summers that we used to go swimming here?"  
  
  


"I remember."  He threw a small pebble that skidded across the surface, making splash sounds at each point of intersection.  
  


  
"You were always good at that."  
  


  
"What can I say?"  
  


  
"Why did you come?  Usually when we meet out here, you usually have something to say other than how the family has been doing."  She looked towards her brother and caught him with a guilty face on him.  "What is it, cat got your tongue?"  
  


  
He didn't know how to cover his act of eavesdropping, but he decided to begin with a chilling statement, "You fell off from your horse, earlier this morning."  
  


  
Relena had a perplex look on her face, "How did you know about that?  Only two other people would know."  
  


  
"Well, I guess then it's a small world after all.  There was a young man that came to your aid. I believe his name is Heero Yuy." He looked towards his sister and noticed that she was still following him.  
  


  
"What is your point then?  Are you saying that I should stay away from him?"  
  


  
Milliardo picked up another smooth pebble and made it skid off the surface of the lake again.  "That's my point exactly."  
  


  
"Why?"  
  


  
"It just seems that he is not the type for you."  
  


  
"Not the type for me?  You're just becoming like mother."  
  


  
"I'm just being a protective brother...it's my duty."  
  


  
"Well if it's your duty then, can you then please respect my own decisions.  He saved my life today.  Isn't that a sign of being a gentleman?"  
  


  
Relena did prove a point to Milliardo.  She had stopped him in his tracks, "Just be careful when you're around him.  I must leave now."  
  


  
"Say 'hello' to Lucrezia for me."  
  


  
"Alright then.  Good night, Relena."  
  


  
"Good night, Milliardo."  She watched her brother walk up a trail leading away from the lake.  Before long, his silvery hair disappeared into the dense underbrush. With that, Relena stood by the lake and admired the view.  In the background, she heard the crickets chirped and that wolves were howling somewhere off in the distance.  Right then, she felt someone's hands on her shoulders.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
Back in the dance hall, Duo caught the eye with one of the ladies wearing a lilac colored chiffon dress.  He bowed to her and she curtsied in return.  "Would a lady like you care for a dance?"  he asked.  
  


  
"I never thought you would ask.  Thank you."  She held out her right-gloved hand and Duo accepted it.  The two then went out on the dance floor and waltzed to a slow violin piece.  
  


  
"So, are you an acquaintance with the Peacecrafts?"  Sparks of curiosity in her eyes.  
  


  
He didn't know how to respond to her abrupt question, "Well, not quite exactly."  
  


  
"So how did you get here, then?"  
  


  
"Alright you caught me, I'm guilty.  My friend and I decided to dress for this dance."  
  


  
"So you weren't invited then?"  
  


  
"Not quite."  
  


  
She smiled to herself, trying to keep the laughter from exploding within her.  "I guess that'll be our little secret then."  The two continued with their slow waltz as with the rest of the couples.  After the music stopped for a brief moment, the two left the dance floor and headed to an unoccupied table.  
  


  
The mystery lady decided to start a conversation with Duo, "I've never seen you around here before?  Are you just visiting for the summer?"  
  


  
"I actually live in the Maxwell residence...I'm Duo Maxwell."  
  


  
"Really?"  Her eyes lighting up with more curiosity.  
  


  
"And you are?"  
  


  
"I'm Hil..."  a grandfather clock rang its chimes, in which Duo couldn't fully hear her name.  
  


  
"I have to go now, I can't be late or my mother will scold me for not being punctual."  
  


  
"So soon?"  Duo tried to make her stay a little longer.  
  


  
"Yes, if you would please excuse me now."  
  


  
Duo bowed in response and escorted her outside.  Out under the night sky, a carriage was already waiting for her to return home.  She untied the white ribbon that graced her coiffure and handed it to him.  "Here, you can keep this as a memento."  She lightly gave him a kiss on his cheek, leaving a faint pink imprint.  "Good night, now."  He watched her enter her carriage and saw it drive off into the night with lanterns hanging on each sides of the carriage.  
  


  
He felt like he was in a trance and then it finally dawned on him as he contemplated to himself that he forgot one tidbit of information...he forgot to ask her for her name again.  "Why did that clock have to chime in the most inappropriate time?"  He slumped his head down in disappointment and headed back to his home, since he didn't see Heero in the dance hall for quite a while.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
"It looks like the night is still active."  A voice whispered into her left ear.  
  


  
"Who are you?"  She felt the hands lift from her shoulders and she then turned around to meet the unknown stranger that stood beside her.  She noticed that his stare was familiar.  "Why did you have to scare my horse earlier this morning?"  She continued to watch him, but she didn't hear a response to her question.  
  


  
"I didn't know you were there," in his monotone voice.  
  


  
She acknowledged his answer.  A faint breeze ran against her light pink dress, as the two continued to stand there in the darkness. "I haven't seen you around here before."  She was trying to strike up a conversation in hopes of gaining some history of him.  
  


  
"I'm just visiting."  
  


  
"From where?"  
  


  
"New York."  
  


  
"Do you have any family living there?"  
  


  
"Yes...must you keep asking incessant questions?"  
  


  
"I'm sorry then, I'm just trying to be polite.  Very well then, I'm returning back to my mother's dance."  She felt a tug on her left arm.  "What do you want now?"  
  


  
"Nothing."  He then abruptly left her and walked off into the darkness again.  
  


  
Relena stood by the lake, wondering why Heero decided to scare her by the lake.  But something nagged continually within her heart, each time she was near him. After she collected her wits again, she walked back to her family's mansion and sneaked in through the back patio door.  
  


  
In the background, Heero heard the back patio door shut, figuring that Relena went back to her mother's dance.  With that, he continued to head back towards Duo's, where he could at least find some solace in his drinking habits.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
Back in the dance hall, somewhere off to the corner of the room, Katrina and her husband were sitting at a table, admiring the joy of their company on the fine summer night.  But, Relena's mutinous act wasn't too far from her mind.  "Oh stop fretting over our daughter, Katrina.  She has made her decision and that's final.  As long our daughter is happy and healthy, that's all I can ask for."  
  


  
"Alright then, I give up then."  She then saw her daughter emerge from the doors of the dance hall and made her way towards them.  "Where have you been?  You practically missed the entire dance for tonight."  
  


  
"I was out talking to one of our newest neighbors."  She took a seat next to her father.  
  


  
"Really?"  
  


  
"His name is Heero Yuy and he says he comes from New York, but otherwise he keeps mostly to himself."  
  


  
Her father noticed that the tension was mounting at the table and he decided to stop it before anything else happened,  "Would care for a dance, Katrina?" He held out his white-gloved hand in hopes of persuading his wife to grab hold of.  
  


  
"Well, certainly."  She took his hand and the two began to dance, as Relena watched from the table.  She scanned the dance floor to find anyone else that she could recognize, but she couldn't, not even Quatre.  In hopes of passing the time away, she gingerly picked at the fine lace that decorated the table.  
  


  
"It's looks like you can use some company, miss."  Relena looked up from the tablecloth and she saw a man with brown hair bowing to her.  And when he looked up, she was met with a pair of hazel eyes.  "My name is William Bennett."  
  


  
"Please to meet you, Mr. Bennett."  
  


  
"And you are?"  
  


  
"Relena Peacecraft."  
  


  
He gently kissed her right hand.  "May I have this dance?"  
  


  
She got up from her seat and glided into the arms of William, who stood only two inches tall from her own height.  With that, the two began a conversation with William discussing about his family history.  "My family moved here not too long ago.  I think we're just a couple of miles down the road from here.  We're living in the old Coopers' place."  
  


  
"I guess that does makes us new neighbors then."  She smiled up into his face.  She then thought to herself, "This must be the family that Milliardo was mentioning about."  She then continued her conversation with William, "My family uses this mansion as a summer home.  You can probably see that my mother hosted this entire dance.  She practically has one every weekend, which culminates in August before we go back to Newberry for the fall."  
  


  
The two continued to dance before her parents spotted them, "Who is this young gentleman, Relena?"  Her mother eyeing him suspiciously with a warm smile.  
  


  
Before Relena could introduce him, William decided to introduce himself, "My name is William Bennett, madam.  My family and I just moved into the old Coopers' place."  
  


  
"Oh, yes, the Coopers.  They were fine friends of ours.  They came to my dances every summer.  I guess their invitation ended up in their mail still, but I'm glad you came still.  So where do attend school?"  
  


  
"Harvard."  His voice was calm and collected.  
  


  
"Very interesting.  And what is your family's occupation?"  
  


  
"Mother."  Relena gave her a look to stop the interrogation of William.  
  


  
"I don't mind, Relena.  We're in the textile industry."  
  


  
"It is a profitable field, indeed.  Well, you have my blessings to see my daughter any time during the day."  
  


  
"Mother!"  
  


  
"What Relena, you do need to find a suitor."  With that statement, Relena blushed lightly.  
  


  
"Well, I'm glad to meet you, William.  You seem to be a fine lad."  
  


  
"Thanks, Mr. Peacecraft."  
  


  
"Come now, Katrina, we must leave these two alone now."  
  


  
She watched her parents leave the dance floor and they sat at their usual table.  "I'm sorry about that, I didn't think my mother would interrogate you right here."  
  


  
"Not at all."  A small grin shown on his face.  
  
~*~

  
  
Duo made it to his front steps of his home and noticed that a glow was coming from his living room.  He opened the front door and entered the foyer, and before him, he saw Heero sitting in front of an empty fireplace.  He noticed that a wine glass was placed on a small marble table.  
  


  
"I see that you left the dance.  You didn't like any of the ladies?" hoping to strike up a conversation with his silent friend.  
  


  
"Quit it."  
  


  
"How did you go into my wine cellar after I nearly bolted it with two different locks?"  
  


  
"I have my ways.  I'm going to my room now."  He rose from his seat in the living room and made his way to his room, which was located at the end of the hallway. The sounds of his black shoes clicked against the floorboards and echoed throughout the hall.  His eyes kept focusing in front of him, as he saw the wooden panels reflect the light from his candlestick that he was holding, since he was too lazy to light all of the candles along the edges of the hall.  Within minutes, he entered his room and took off his formal wear, only to leave them wrinkled on one of the velvet chairs that were situated in the corner of his room.  
  


  
He stood in front of his mirror and stared into his own reflection, trying to figure out his feelings and the memories from his past.  His fists clenched in frustration on his dresser, and before long, the sounds of the ceramic pitcher breaking filled his room.  He felt the water seep at his feet and he watched the liquid as it slowly filled the cracks between the floorboards.  He carefully picked up the ceramic fragments and tossed them into a small container on his dresser.  With the mess cleared away, he went over to his bed, but he felt something sticky on his fingertips.  A single drop of red blood oozed from his right index finger, "It figures."  He wiped the blood with a small handkerchief that he kept on his nightstand that was situated on the left side of his bed.  For the night, sleep slowly took over his body and with that, he hoped that he could find some answers to his relentless images from his past.  
  


  
~*~

  
  
"Who is the nice gentleman that is dancing with Relena?"  A woman with auburn hair asked Katrina.  
  


  
"That is William Bennett.  His family just recently moved into the old Coopers' place."  
  


  
"It looks like Relena has found her suitor after all."  Her brown eyes kept searching for the young couple.  
  


  
"I guess your right, Martha."  The two women were cooling themselves with their silk fans.  
  


  
"Does your husband approve of him?"  
  


  
"Certainly."  
  


  
"Well, look at the time, it's almost midnight.  I must go now.  It was a pleasure talking to you on this fine evening."  She gracefully rose from her seat and straightened out her green dress.  
  


  
"Alright, Martha, I'll let you know what happens with Relena and William.  We should gossip over a cup of rose tea sometime soon."  
  


  
"I would love that.  Good night then."  
  


  
"Good night."  She watched Martha leave with her husband and she then sat back down into her seat.  A smile graced her face, since she was glad that Relena chose a suitor.  
  


  
"Um...William...sorry to be rude, but I think we should take a break now.  My feet aren't used to all of this dancing."  
  


  
"Sorry about that."  He led Relena off the dance floor and out of the dance hall.  The two headed out towards the front door, where they sat out on a front patio bench that was lined against the white railings.  "Is it possible that I could see you again some time soon?"

  
  
Relena was taken with his politeness.  "Um...yes it's possible."  
  


  
"Great then."  He got up from his seat and took her right hand and kissed it gently.  "Good night, Relena."  
  


  
"Good night, William."  She headed back into the door and watched the last of her mother's guests leave for the night.  
  


  
"I believe the night was a success after all."  
  


  
"Hello mother."  
  


  
"I'm glad that you finally found someone.  He seems to be a really nice lad like your father says."  
  


  
"Where's father right now?"  trying to change the subject from her mother's curious interrogating questions.  
  


  
"Are you trying to change the subject?"  
  


  
"Not really.  I just want to know where he is?  That's all, honestly, since he is my father."  
  


  
"He already went up to sleep for the night.  And now, what about William?"  
  


  
Relena paused a second before she spoke, trying to taunt her mother's anxiety, "He said that he'll be coming to see me again in the next few days."  
  


  
"Well then, this is music to my ears."  
  


  
"Good night, mother."  With that, she went up to her room and removed her pink chiffon dress along with her corset, and in minutes, she felt the tight hold of the fabric loosen and that she could breathe more easily.  She then slipped into a light linen nightgown.  After every clothing piece was put back in their respective places in her closet, she untied the pink ribbon that adorned her hair and with that, her hair uncurled down on her shoulders and back.  She seated herself by an open window and looked out into the twilight.  The full moon shone brightly in the night sky. She pondered about the differences between Heero and William, in which there were stark contrasts to be noticed.  Of course William was more open than Heero, but there was still something about Heero that Relena tried to fixate on...it was his cold stare that still continued to mesmerize her for no apparent reason.  In the back of her mind, her brother's warning slipped in and out of her reasoning.  Since she couldn't fall asleep, she decided to finish Wuthering Heights.  "Let's see what Heathcliff is up to now."  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
In the distance, he heard laughter coming from a corner of his room.  "Who's there?  What do you want from me?"  His eyes narrowed trying to find the mysterious stranger in the darkness.  He then heard his door open and sensed that someone had left his room.  With that as a cue, he followed the sound of the laughter and caught a vague image of somebody running away from him.  He continued to run in a darken hallway with the sounds of fleeing footsteps pattering somewhere in front of him.    
  


  
"See if you can catch me."  The voice continued to taunt to him.  
  


  
He then yelled in frustration, "What do you want?  I'm tired of playing these games!"  He then saw the figure disappear into thin air.  
  


  
Heero awoke from his sleep, his eyes were wide and his forehead was lined with sweat.  He found himself on the floor with his linen blanket entangled around his legs.  His breathing was rapid and deep, as he tried to collect his thoughts.  "Who is she?"  He stared into the darkness.  
  


  
TBC  
  
  



	4. Impressions

Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.  
  


  
**_Impressions  
  
_**

  
~*~  
  


  
As promised, William came to see Relena on various occasions, sometimes he would join the Peacecrafts for a cup of afternoon tea, while at other times Katrina insisted that he should stay for dinner.  During those times, William created a great impression on Katrina, and even on Mr. Peacecraft himself.  William noticed that he kept a close eye on him and whatever he did with Relena, but he knew that Mr. Peacecraft was protecting his only daughter in a fatherly way. 

On one night after dinner, William was left alone with him.  
  


  
"It seems like you have been visiting here, quite often, William."  Mr. Peacecraft sat at his usual black leather chair in the living room.  He heard Relena and Katrina in the kitchen.  He looked back at William, who stood nervously in front of the elder.   
  


  
"Yes, sir."  
  


  
Mr. Peacecraft gestured for William to sit in a couch that was situated beside his leather chair.  "Would you care for a cigar?"  He held an oak box filled with at least 10 of them.  He noticed William refused.  "I never really cared of smoking, even though I had a few of these lying in this box, just in case, some guests arrived.  Anyhow, I just want you to know that you're a fine lad and that you've been treating her with respect.  You better keep it that way or I'll have my hound dogs track you down."  
  


  
Right then, William's face turned pale at the slight remark.  He looked at the elder, who held a slight smile on his face, a sign that he was just playing.  
  


  
Relena appeared at the doorframe of the living room and noticed that her father gave his final approval of him.  " He's a keeper."  She slightly blushed with that remark.  
  


  
"I don't know what I would do without him."  
  


  
The young couple then walked out to the front porch.  "Good night, Relena."  
  


  
"Good night."  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
On the following morning, Relena was left all to herself minus the fact that a couple of maids were dusting around the vast residence.  For the morning, most of the household had cleared out to attend a picnic that was being hosted nearby.  
  


  
A knock was heard on the front door.   
  


  
Relena looked at a small clock that was set on the fireplace mantle.  The white face showed that it was two o'clock in the afternoon.  "I don't recall my mother having any guests coming so late in the afternoon.  So much for afternoon tea."  She placed a book down next to her and smoothed out her white afternoon dress.  "I wonder who could that be."  She headed into one of the vast hallways on the first floor and eventually came upon the front door.  
  


  
"Hello, Relena."  
  


  
"Hello, William.  What brings you here?"  
  


  
"These are for you."  He handed her a small bouquet of red roses.  
  


  
She gingerly took them into her hands.  "These are lovely.  Thank you."  
  


  
"I was wondering...would you care for a horseback ride right now?  I know it may seem abrupt, but I figure that your mother isn't around to pester you."

  
  
She paused in her response, "Alright then, just give me a few minutes to change into my riding attire.  You can come in and wait in the foyer if you like."  
  


  
William decided to come in, "You have a nice mansion here."  
  


  
"Thank you...I'll be right back."  She walked upstairs and entered into her room.  Within five minutes, she reemerged with her white blouse and a riding skirt.  "Thanks for waiting."  
  


  
"It was no trouble at all."  
  


  
The two walked out onto the same gravel road that led towards the family's stable and in there, Relena showed him her chestnut mare.  She quickly placed on the black saddle and before long, the two were riding their horses.  
  


  
Relena being an avid rider started to strike up a conversation, "You have a nice Appaloosa."  
  


  
"Thank you.  My father bought if for me as a going away present for college."  
  


  
The two continued on with their slow walk through the countryside.  It has been three weeks since their first meeting at her mother's dance.  "So how are you liking Winfield so far?  It seems like I never get the chance of having a conversation without my mother leading the actual conversation."  
  


  
"The sights are interesting...but nothing as compared to you."  
  


  
She slightly blushed at his remark.  "Should we now start a canter?"  
  


  
He then used his right index finger and pointed in the direction ahead of them, "The fastest one to that oak tree wins.  On my mark, one...two...three."  With that, the two horses bolted into their canters.  At times, Relena was in the lead, while at others, William was overtaking her.  The two continued with their neck in neck race and the two riders noticed that they were closing in on the acorn tree was standing in the middle of the open pasture.  
  


  
Relena urged her horse to go more faster, while at the same time, William did the same.  When the two had reached their intended target, it was hard to tell who actually won the small race.   
  


  
"It looks like we tied for the race."  
  
  
"I guess you're right, William.  I think our horses need to take a break a little."  
  


  
He quickly left his saddle and went over to Relena's side.  He grabbed her by the waistline and gently placed her on her feet.  "There you go."  
  


  
"You're such a gentleman, you know that."  The two were standing face to face.  She felt his breath running close to her face.  His mouth hovered near hers and he was about to kiss her.  She immediately moved away from him, "I don't think we should be doing this.  Not yet."  
  


  
"Sorry about that then, I guess we should be getting back to your home then."  The feeling of hurt carried within him.   
  


  
The two slowly trotted back to the Peacecraft mansion, and Relena could tell that William was somewhat crushed on his first attempt to kiss her.  "I really had a nice time, thank you."  The two were now in sight of the stable.  "I guess this is my cue to leave now.  Bye, William."  
  


  
"Bye, Relena." He watched her ride to her family's stable, but in the distance he saw someone emerge from the shadows of the stable. "I wonder who could that be," he strained his eyes to see if he could pick up anymore details of the mysterious man, but then he remembered something else that was on his mind. He ordered his horse to trot back to his family's mansion, where someone else was awaiting for his arrival.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
"Mind if I join you?"  
  


  
Heero nodded his head to the left, gesturing that Duo could join him on the quiet afternoon.  
  


  
"You seem to have something on your mind lately."  
  


  
"Your point?"  
  


  
"I'm just striking up a conversation here, that's all."  
  


  
"Well, it's none of your business."  
  


  
Duo lifted one of his eyebrows up in curiosity, "Oh really...is it about Relena?"  
  


  
"It's not about her." His right hand gripped the arm rest of the patio chair.   
  


  
Duo decided to change the subject, "About your New York trip...what really happened?"  
  


  
Heero looked blankly in front of him, remembering the confrontations with his father, "My father kicked me out of the family."  
  


  
Duo's face dropped slightly after hearing the news.  "I didn't mean to get all of the details.  You're welcome to stay here as long as you like."  He then decided to leave Heero for the day in hopes of allowing him to collect his thoughts and that he could sort through his problems.

  
  
Once Duo was out of his sight, Heero felt somewhat relieved that he finally told the truth to him, but something else kept nagging within him.  It was his recurring dream of his trip to New York intertwined with someone running away from him in a hallway.  All he could remember from his dream that there was laughter in the background and that there was a feminine voice.  Could it be in relation to Relena or someone else that he had met before?   
  


  
"Why can't I remember?"  He closed his eyelids, but couldn't draw up any memories to help solve his nagging dream.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
"Where have you been, Miss Peacecraft?  Your mother has been looking for you."  A pair of keen black eyes focused on her.  
  


  
"And you're?"  
  


  
"Answer my question first."  The man grabbed hold of her horse's reins by the teeth bit.  
  


  
"I was out riding with William Bennett.  If you could please release my reins now, I would greatly appreciate it."  He let the leather reins go and allowed her to enter the stable.  
  


  
"If you must know, I'm Wufei Chang."  He walked off somewhere to the back of the stable, clearing a pile of haystacks to be used for the horses' feed.   
  


  
Relena got off from her horse and led it back to its stall.  She quickly unsaddled her horse and did a quick grooming down its back and main body.  Once everything was back in order, she resumed her conversation with Wufei.  "I was wondering, did my mother ask you to question me on my whereabouts?"  
  


  
Wufei paid no attention to the woman that was standing behind him.  He kept using a pitchfork and lifted the hay into a small bin.  He heard Relena slowly walk out of the stable and with the feeling of uneasiness in the air, he decided to acknowledge her question, "To answer your question, yes she did.  I need to get back to work now, if you'll please excuse me."  
  


  
She decided to leave Wufei alone and walked back to the mansion. With that, she heard other footsteps coming from behind her.  
  


  
"There you are, my dear."  
  


  
"Hello, mother.  Why did you ask a stable boy to question me about my whereabouts?"  Her mother suddenly stopped in her walk and right then, Relena decided to face her mother.  
  


  
"I was just wondering where you went.  When I came back home, the house was entirely emptied."  
  


  
"Unlikely story...you were waiting somewhere in the stable when I came back and when Wufei questioned me, you could hear the gossip firsthand."  
  


  
"Are you accusing me for that action?"  
  


  
"I just wish you could just let me be and stop controlling my life as if you were repeating yours through mine," frustration was heard in her voice.   
  


  
It suddenly dawned on Katrina that something in that statement finally clicked in her mind.  She finally saw that she was molding Relena's life into a life that she witnessed as a young lady due to the fact that her own mother did the same exact thing to herself.  It was this society that kept laying out the guidelines to a proper way of life, the women were respected if they showed the proper etiquette and that if they had the money to host social functions, they couldn't be rejected.  Even though her husband was rich and well respected among his colleagues, she decided to use Relena in this game of popularity in hopes of attracting gossipers to her home.  With that, news of Relena being courted would spread like wildfire through the community and in someway, she could then get the recognition in raising a fine girl.   
 

  
"I'm sorry Relena, I don't know what overcame me in the first place.  I guess with your brother's refusal made me more determined to find a suitor for you.  Can you ever forgive me?"  Tears were now welling up in her blue eyes.  
  


  
Relena slowly walked over to her mother's side.  At first, she stood apprehensively in front of her, wondering if she lets her guard down, would the whole process of her mother intruding into her life begin again.  She then embraced her, "I forgive you...but you must keep your distance in my personal life."   
  


  
"I'll try, but there's no guarantee."  A wry smile was seen on her face.   
  


  
Relena felt uneasy around her mother and contemplated to herself, "Is this another game that she's playing?"  
  


  
"So how was your ride with William?"  
  


  
"It was pleasant."   
  


  
A curious look was seen on her mother.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
Duo walked on endlessly for over an hour.  His eyes focused on the ground rather than what lay ahead of him.  He was shocked that Heero's father had kicked Heero out of the family.  He mumbled something to himself, "Now I can see what predicament he's in.  If only I had known earlier."  He contemplated back to their first night when Heero arrived in Winfield, the signs were subtle, even though he knew that Heero kept most to himself.  He should have paid more close attention to his friend's drinking habits, he never thought that Heero would pick up the habit of drinking alcohol.  "There's something still wrong to this picture.  I wonder what it could be?"  He continued to walk down the main gravel road that led from his residence.  
  


  
Right before him, a slender figured emerged from a side road with small packages in her hands.  She was busy juggling the packages, being careful not to drop them.  She stopped and readjusted her grasp on them, and with that, she continued to walk down the main road.  
  


  
Unexpectedly, the two collided into one another, each of them falling onto the floor with Duo tripping over something in the process and ended up in a small patch of mud, while the female figure fell onto her knees.  
  


  
"Watch where you're going, mister!"  She immediately picked the paper-wrapped packages that were strewn across the dirt path and checked to see their contents were still intact.  "You're lucky that none of these porcelain dishes broke."  
  
  
"I'm glad that you're alright, too."  Duo slowly got up from his mud bath and nearly slipped in the process.  "I'm sorry about this incident, miss, I'm truly am." He then wiped away some of the mud that clung to his face and eyes, his vision was somewhat blurred for a while.  "Do I know you from somewhere?"  
  


  
The lady immediately stopped in front of him with an appalled look on her face.  
  


  
"I think you're the one from the Peacecraft dance that was held three weeks ago, if I recalled correctly."  
  


  
"Duo?"  
  


  
"You do remember me!  That's a relief."  
  


  
"What brings you here?"  
  


  
"I was just walking through the neighborhood."  
  


  
She gave him a questioningly look.  "You sure about that?  I think you might be here for another reason."  
  
Duo started to look guiltier.  "How can I put this...there was one thing that I need to ask you.  Do you remember a Grandfather clock chiming during our conversation at the dance?"  
  


  
"Yes, but just get to the point."  
  


  
He tugged at his shirt collar that was stained with the brown soil, "What's your name again, I somewhat didn't quite catch it."  
  


  
"Is that what you came here for?"  She looked towards his face and he responded with a guilty look.  "It's Hilde.  That wasn't painful, was it?"  
  


  
"No, not really."  She then brushed past him and a slender hand flashed quickly at him.  "Why did you do that for?"  He landed back into the mud puddle.   
  


  
"I'll see you around, Duo."  She continued down a small dirt road, holding the packages still in her hands.  
  


  
"It figures for her to be cunning."  He wiped away the mud that clung to his cotton shirt.  He then thought to himself, "But she sure is feisty."  He smirked and wandered off in the same direction that she had ventured just a few minutes ago.  
  


  
~*~  
  


  
Heero had left from his spot on Duo's front porch and decided to take a small walk.  It seemed to him that he had walked endlessly in the surroundings of Winfield.  Everywhere he went to, there were maples, birches, ash trees, and cottonwoods.  But once in a while, there were clusters of pine trees that dotted the landscape.  He pressed on further until he came across a newly cleared field and a few hundred yards in front of him, a small two story home stood in stark contrast from the land.  Its dark blue shutters looked repainted, while the boards looked like they were white-washed quickly.  The paint baffled him, considering the fact that most of Winfield residents were wealthy.   
  


  
He strained his eyes to see what other details he could muster, but the dust slightly irritated his eyes.  He wasn't used to the open rural settings, since most of his life, he spent it in New York, while occasionally, he would spend some of his time in Winfield.  He continued to walk on the gray gravel path until he heard a horse sprinting his way.  
  


  
"Out of my way!"  The rider cantered right in front of Heero.  A blur of white and brown was seen, along with a faint trail of white dust.  
  


  
"What an uptight fellow."  He noticed the rider steered his horse into the field that lay ahead of him.  At the spur of the moment, he decided to follow this "rude" rider.  With that, he stealthily walked closer to the home and hid behind a shed that was situated to the side of the house.  Overall, Heero could still get a bird's eye view of what was happening and that he could listen into the conversation, as well.  
  


  
A woman was waiting patiently for someone at the front door.  Her sandy blond hair was neatly braided and it was adorned with a light green ribbon that was tied at the end.  As for her summer dress, it was the same light green color and a white sash was tied around her waist.  He showed a puzzling look on his face and his mind pressed for an answer, "Something is not right here."   
  


  
A man's voice was heard in the distance, "Sorry to keep you waiting, my dear.  I was out riding."   
  


  
"It's quite alright, William.  I see you renovated this home."  She went over to him and gave him a long desired kiss.  "So, how are the residents treating you around here?"  
  


  
"To be quite frank, they've been warm and welcoming to me."  Giving off a slight smirk, "What brings you here to Winfield, Celeste?"   
  


  
"To see you." She gave him another kiss.  
  


  
He smiled back to her and lifted her up in his arms. "Where shall we begin?"  
  


  
"Aren't you the naughty one?" She melted into his arms.   
  


  
A couple of minutes later, the front door slammed.  With this as a signal, Heero looked from his hiding spot and once everything was cleared, he quickly ran out from the grove of trees and headed back onto the main gravel road.  The conversation from William and Celeste role-played through his mind, along with the community's gossip network that has been relentlessly in relaying juicy details of some residents.  One of the names that surfaced in his mind was Relena Peacecraft.  The name, William, triggered a tensed feeling within Heero and his fists clenched at his sides.   
  


  
~*~  
  


  
"I know you're back there, Duo, are you stalking me?" yelled Hilde.  
  


  
"How did you know that I was here?"   
  


  
"It's my little secret. Well...are you stalking me?"  
  


  
He quickly caught up to her and sheepishly replied, "Partially yes and no."  A brief pause came into their conversation, "Can I just walk you home?  It wouldn't be right for me to have you walk all by yourself.  You never know who's in these woods."  
  


  
Hilde paused in her walk and directly looked at him, "Alright then."  
  


  
A wave of relief washed through Duo and he contemplated to himself, "It looks like I still have a chance with her."  He then said out loud, "Sorry about this afternoon's collision."

  
  
"It's fine."  She still struggled with some of her packages.  
  


  
"Let me take those for you."  
  


  
"Thank you, Duo."  The two continued to walk up the now broaden dirt path.  "So, you really didn't know my name from the dance three weeks ago?"  
  
"Can we just change the subject?"  Duo continued to stare straight ahead of him, he didn't want to trip over small branches and smash the delicate packages that he was carrying for Hilde.  
  


  
"Poor thing."  
  


  
"Very funny."  
  


  
"Well, here we are. It's not as elegant as the rest of the homes in Winfield." The house was a two-story structure with three windows on each floor, but otherwise it's white color softly stood out amongst the greenery. In addition, there were a few nooks and crannies that needed to be fix, but nothing too serious. "My family and I can never get into the habit of fixing this place up, it seems that we never have enough time."   
  


  
He walked Hilde to the front door and helped her in with all of her packages.  He quickly peaked through the door and saw that the inside of the house was completely furnished with traditional wood frames and small oriental rugs.  In addition, each room looked like it had a particular theme.  For example, one room was painted yellow, which meant that it was the morning room, in which tea and breakfast would be served. While in another room, it was painted blue and it looked more like a guest receiving area.  
  


  
"Looks can be deceiving," replied Hilde.  "Thanks for your help, Duo."  
  


  
"It was my pleasure, Hilde.  I'll see you around then."  
  


  
She smiled in response and closed the door.  She watched Duo walk down the same dirt path that the two had walked on earlier.  "I think I'm in love," she whispered.  She then looked away from the window and looked into the kitchen, where her mother was baking chocolate chip cookies.  
  


  
TBC  
  
  



	5. Hidden Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

****

**_Hidden Secrets_**

~*~

A couple stood amongst a small crowd of travelers waiting for a train of carriages to arrive in the main square, while a man cautiously scanned the area to see if anyone recognized him in the early dawn.  He thought to himself, "I guess no one suspects that Milliardo Peacecraft is back."  He wore a small cap that concealed his eyes.  He continued to walk through the small group.  "I guess I can finally enjoy a quiet morning's walk."

At the same time, William made sure that no one he knew was around, otherwise the town gossip will ruin his reputation and a possible chance with Relena Peacecraft.  A feminine voice caught him off his guard, "Must I leave now?"  A pair of brown eyes softly looked into William's. "I really had a great time staying here for the night, William.  When will I see you next?"  She stayed close to him.

"Hopefully in a matter of months, father is making me work for his company and it will take a while for me to settle in.  I can probably meet you in Boston, I'll make sure that a message will be sent to you before I go."

"That would be great."  A pause came between the two of them.  In the background, sounds of hoofs beating came closer to them and the townspeople.  "I guess then this is goodbye for now."  William then took her in his arms and gave her a short kiss.  

By that time, two carriages had arrived into the main square.  William escorted Celeste into the second carriage.  He stood in the early light and watched Celeste's carriage disappear in the light fog.  She looked out of the window with her beige colored bonnet and waved at him.  Once she was out of his eyesight, he resumed walking towards the main square.  "Oh excuse me, pardon me."  William had accidentally bumped into a man wearing a brown cap.  

"He looks familiar."  His narrowed somewhat, but before long he disappeared into a dense brush.

As for William, he steadily walked out of the main square that was filled with a variety of shops ranging from a market, barbershop, and clothing stores filled with men's and women's apparel.  He passed by the post office and noticed a couple of white flyers that filled a bulletin board.  One of the flyers caught his attention; it was about a circus troupe coming to town for the weekend.  "This should be interesting…maybe Relena would like to go."

He took out his gold pocket watch and noticed that the dials shown it was close to eight in the morning.  With that, he started to head towards the Peacecraft residence in hopes that Relena would accept his offer.  A couple of the neighbors passed him and greeted him politely.  And in return, he returned them with his greeting and a smile.  But, there was something else that hid beneath his façade that no one could possibly pick up unless for one particular eyewitness.    

He continued to walk along a cobblestone street that eventually trailed off into a more broaden gravel path that would lead to the southeast end of Winfield.  He followed the path a few more minutes before he came across the Corinthian columns that stood in the broad daylight.  Eventually, he came across the front door and gingerly knocked on the door before a familiar face answered it.

"Hello William, I'll get Relena for you.  Please come inside."  She ushered him into main living room.  "Just wait right here.  Would like a cup of tea?"

"That won't be necessary, madam."  He watched her leave into the foyer and saw her walk up stairs.

"Relena."  She knocked on her daughter's bedroom door.

"What is it mother?"

"William is waiting for you down in the main living room."

"I'll be down there in five minutes."

Katrina immediately went back down stairs and informed William that Relena will be right with him in a couple of minutes.  With that, she walked to the dining room and stood against a wall.  She eventually heard Relena coming down the stairs and heard her greet William.  She pretended to be preoccupied with something, but her anxiety got the best of her.  She ended up eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I was just wondering if you would care to go out on a date with me this weekend.  It's nothing too fancy, but I think it'll be lots of fun."

"What did you have in mind then?"

"Well, the town is having a circus troupe this weekend and I was thinking that we could go sometime around dusk on Saturday.  I heard there will be a fireworks display after the show."  

In the other room, Katrina had her left ear pressed against the door that lead into the main living room.  She thought to herself, "I wonder what's taking Relena so long in making a decision.  Of course, she should go.  Come on Relena out with your answer. "  She then heard a voice start off in the other room.

"I would love to go with you."

"It's settled then, I'll see you around seven on Saturday."

Relena then escorted William out of the living room and to front door.  "I'll look forward to seeing you then."  With that, she watched him walk down the dirt path and closed the door after him.  She looked around where she was standing and noticed something wasn't quite right, "Alright mother, I know you're hiding behind the dining room door.  You might as well come out right now."

There wasn't a response from the dining room, "I wonder where she could be."  She decided to investigate the room herself and to her surprise, her mother wasn't in sight anywhere, not even underneath the mahogany table.  "I could have sworn that I heard here in this room.  Hmm…"

Outside, Katrina was walking to Martha's home.  She eventually made it and stood in front of the vast mansion.  It was more or less a copy of the Peacecraft's mansion except that there were more windows.  She smoothed down her navy blue dress and knocked only once.  In minutes, Martha appeared at the door.  "Hi Martha, I have some news for you."

"Well come in."   

~*~

"Good morning, Duo."

"Good morning, Hilde.  What brings you to this part of the neighborhood?"

"I was out for my morning walk into the main square and I came across some upcoming events.  A circus troupe is coming this weekend."  She looked towards Duo to see if he was still following with her train of thought.  She then thought to herself, "Maybe I should have been more abrupt to my point."

Duo's eyes became enlightened, "Are you implying that I should ask you out for a date?"

Her eyes widened a little.  "Well, maybe?"

"Well alright then."

"I knew I could count on you."  She walked up to him and gave him a hug.  She looked over his shoulders and noticed that they had an audience.  "Um…Duo…is that your friend looking at us right now?"

"Where are my manners?  Hilde I would like to introduce you to Heero Yuy."  He gestured his friend to come out of the shadows of the front porch, where Hilde could see him more clearly.  "This is Hilde."

"How do you do?"  She curtsied.  "I believe that Duo here, did mention you once at a ball three weeks ago."

Heero responded, "The pleasure is mine.  If you would please excuse me."  

"Certainly."  She watched him walk back into the house.

"You know where you could find me," he yelled back to Duo.  Right then, the front screen door gently closed behind him.

"I hope it's not the wine cellar!"

"Duo, do you think we should also invite him to see the circus troupe.  I mean he seems to be awfully solitary to himself.  I think maybe letting him get out once in a while will do him some good.  Don't you think?"

"Well…"  In truth, Duo wanted to be alone with Hilde for the date.  But with Heero's problems, he couldn't resist in trying to help out his friend.  In his mind, his id, superego, and ego were all raging a warfare between who would win out in this situation.  "So much for reading Sigmund Freud.  I guess your right Hilde."  He lightly kissed her on the forehead.  "I'll come by around five on Saturday, considering the fact that the three of us will have to walk to the circus grounds."

"Great then, I better be heading back home, since I have too many chores still to complete."

He watched her leave and before long, she disappeared behind a small hill that blocked his view.  "Alright then, how am I going to get Heero out of the house on a Saturday night?"  He lightly tapped his foot in hopes of jumpstarting his mind.  "I might as well drag him out of the house, if I can't think of anything."  He started to head back to his house and when he reached the front door, he was met with a cold stare.  "Hey there…" sweat drops started to dot his forehead.  He was trying to conceal his guilty look.

"I heard everything."

"And?"

"I'm not going."

"What!  Hilde made me promise that you have to come.  She thinks that you'd be too lonely on a Saturday night.  Come on…I think the fresh air would do you some good and besides who would refuse in watching a circus troupe perform."

"I would."

"You're hopeless you know that."  Duo threw his hands in the air.  "Suit yourself."

~*~

Two days later, the whole community of Winfield was gathering in anticipation of their newest visitors.  On the previous night, a couple of bystanders witnessed the wagons pulling into a grassy field not too far off from the main square.  The coverings were decorated with pictures of clowns, jugglers, and flame-throwers.  In a matter of hours within the darkness, the circus troupe had pitched a large yellow clothed tent in the middle of the field.  By morning, a small trapeze setup was created out of nowhere and two performers were running through their routine.  A small crowd had gathered near the bottom to witness their dare with fate.  They watched as two female acrobats twist and turned their bodies in motion, while at the right second, they grabbed hold of their swings.   The pair looked like as if they could fly through the air with their tricks as they dazzled their audience.

A few feet away from the main circus setup, a child's voice rang in excitement, "Mommy look at that, the circus is here."  A little boy dressed in a navy blue outfit became entranced with the sight before him.

"I know…we'll be going there soon."  His mother urged her son to move, so he wouldn't be blocking the traffic on the sidewalks, as passerbys prepared themselves for the day's festivities.  

~*~

A couple of hours had now passed and it was getting towards the time, where Duo had to walk up to Hilde's for his first date with her.  "I never felt this nervous before, what happens if something goes wrong?  Calm yourself down, Duo, this is only a date."  He looked at a small brass clock that sat on his coffee table.  It's face shown half past four.  "I guess, it's no time like the present."  He slowly walked out the living room and headed out the front door.

"Calm yourself down, Duo, just act natural."  He kept repeating the statement over and over again.  He felt that he had walked for eons of time before he finally made it to Hilde's.  He gently knocked on the front door, and before long, someone had peaked through the lace curtains that hung close to the front door.

"Hi, Duo.  I see that you're right on time."  

"Wow, you look wonderful."  Hilde emerged from her front door with a sky blue summer dress that was accented with a small ribbon tied around her waist.

"Thank you."

"Where are your parents?  I don't see them."

"They're on a small vacation to Rhode Island.  They should be back by Monday, at the latest."  She noticed that someone else didn't join them yet.  "Where's Heero?  I thought he was supposed to come."

"I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't budge."

"He might change his mind."

"He might.  Shall we be going now?  We don't want to be late and miss everything."  He held out his right arm and she gracefully took it.  The two walked hand in hand until they passed the main town square and before long, they arrived on the circus grounds.

Meanwhile back at the Peacecraft residence, everyone was in a hustle, with Katrina going crazy about Relena's date with William.  "Now Relena dear, don't forget to add a little lipstick and fix your dress.  You want to make a right impression on him."

"Mother, I think you're overdoing this.  Remembered what I said?"

"Alright, alright, I'll stay out of this."  Her mother left in slight agitation that her daughter dismissed her from her room.  

Relena then emerged from her room in a lilac summer dress with a pair of matching walking shoes.  She walked down to the first floor and waiting patiently for William to arrive.  She rarely had sat in her living room for ten minutes, when she heard a familiar knock on the door.  "I guess that's William, I'm leaving now."

"You have a great time now, and don't hurry back."

"I won't father."

"Bye mother."

"Bye dear."  She watched her daughter leave.  She was about to peak through the windows to spy on the young two lovers.

"Katrina dear, I don't think that's necessary to eavesdrop on those two, since you already relayed the information along with Martha through the community's phone network.  I pretty much can assume that the town will keep an eye on those two.  Now come back here, and let's play a game of chess."  He quickly walked up to his wife and gently pushed her away from the window.

~*~

"Shall we head to the circus grounds now?  I believe the show is about start at a quarter till eight."

"I think it's a fine plan."  She saw William offer his arm and she greatly obliged.

The two walked under the darkening sky until some stars became noticeable.  "You look wonderful tonight."

"Thank you, William.  So what have you been up to lately?"

"Oh nothing, just fixing up the house and riding out in the pastures."  As he said that statement, he concealed the fact that he had someone else over at his residence, but he didn't show any signs of it.

In a matter of minutes, the two walked into the main entrance of the circus tent, which was well lit with well placed torches.  Families and couples had already begun to sit on the wooden benches.  Relena looked around to see if she knew anyone and she saw one familiar friend of hers that was not related to her mother's.  "Hi, Hilde."  She urged William to come with her.

"Hi, Relena."  The old friends started to reminisce with one another.  "I see you brought someone along with you."

"Hilde, this is my date for the night.  His name is William Bennett."

"Please to meet you, William.  I've heard much about you lately through the town's gossip."

"The pleasure is mine."  He nodded politely to her.

"Are you here alone?  I mean you could join with us."

"I'm actually on a date with someone too.  He should be coming back soon, I don't know where he disappeared to."  With that said, Duo emerged in the tent with some snacks in his hand.  She quickly waved in the air to attract his attention, "Duo, over here!"  Before long, he made his way through the masses and found his way to Hilde.  "Duo, I would like to introduce you to Relena Peacecraft and William Bennett."

"Hi there, Duo Maxwell, here, please to meet you.  So you're the couple that everyone has been talking about for these past couple of weeks.  Did you know that we're actually neighbors?  I only live a couple of houses down from yours."

"Oh, really?"

"You should come by and visit sometime."

"I might."  

Right then, William got on the defensive and politely excused her and him from the couple. "Well look at the time, we must be going now.  It looks like the seats are filling up fast.  It was nice talking to the both of you."  He gently placed his hand on small of her back and the two then walked to a set of wooden benches not too far from the open circus ring.

"Why did you have to do that for, William?  I was just talking to my old friend."

"I know but I don't want to impede on their date."

"Well is that so?"  She gave him a questioning look.  "I think it was more than that, William.  I believe you wanted me to get out of Duo's charming persona."

"Maybe."  He looked in a direction away from Relena's glance.

"I can't really figure you out, can I?"  She held him closer than before.

"Only time will tell."   He grabbed hold of her left hand and smiled.  

Right then, a man dressed in a red suit appeared with a matching red top hat.  He stood up on a small wooden platform that could easily be moved anywhere within the ring.  "Ladies and gentleman, I'm Collin, host of tonight's festivities.  Be prepared to be dazzled and amazed with our trapeze artists and clown acts.  But later in this evening, I have a little treat for all of you.  Let the festivities begin."

At that moment, five prancing ponies entered the arena and danced to a tune played on an organ.  After that, various clowns came in, some were either throwing cream pies at each other, while others played tricks with the audience with phony bricks that looked like they could crush their victims.   With the last of the clowns disappearing back into the dressing areas, the trapeze artists climbed to their positions and performed a flawless routine.  The crowds below them oohed and aahed at their majestic grace. 

Relena grabbed hold of William's right arm tighter than normal,  "I wouldn't be able to do that, I'm afraid of heights."

William just held her closer and smiled at her.

Collin then came back to the center of the ring, "Is everyone having fun tonight?"  The response was shouting filled with delight.  "Terrific then…it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Catherine Bloom, the knife-thrower extraordinaire, and her assistant, Trowa Barton."  Collin immediately left the stage, while a group of stagehands created the set.  At the same time, a couple of Winfield residents continued to enter the tent.  One of them in particular stood off to the side, where no one could notice him.  He stood off in the shadows and watched the upcoming act, but his gaze was sometimes diverted to the audience.

In minutes, a wooden board was placed upright in the center of arena, while at the same time, a girl wearing a short dark red dress emerged from the shadows along with a boy dressed in a clown outfit. 

"Alright, Trowa, I won't try to aim too close."  She pulled out a couple of knives from a velvet purse.  The handles were intricately designed with floral patterns.  "Stay still, now."  She watched as Trowa obeyed.  "Here I go."  She threw one and it landed next to his left arm.

He continued to stare straight ahead of him with his arms slightly parted at his sides.

Catherine then threw a couple of knives in a row, and before long, Trowa was surrounded with knives around his shoulders and one right above his head.  The audience sat in silence, as they all wondered if the boy was dead or alive.  They all noticed a drip of blood coming down the left side of his face.  The anticipation started to rise and within a minute, Trowa emerged forward from the barrage of knives.  The crowd applauded loudly and gave a standing ovation.  The two performers then bowed and left the center ring.

Trowa then murmured something to his partner as the two were heading back into the tent, "I think that was a little too close."

"What do you mean?  I think I was on my mark."

Back in the circus tent, Collin could be heard, "Good night, ladies and gentlemen.  Thank you for being such a terrific audience."  He then ushered all of the performers onto the center ring.  "May I remind everyone that we will have a fireworks display out in the open meadow, starting right about now."  The audience then heard a loud crack and flash of red light.  
  


By then, the tent slowly emptied and right then, Heero noticed a pair of familiar eyes.  He looked ahead of him and noticed that "he" was there with her.  His eyes focused on the pair and he wished that he had one of Catherine's knives to throw at "him."  But, he knew that the secret he carried could destroy the entire relationship between "him" and her.  He felt like he had to protect her, but how.  His heart raged a battle he never felt before.  He 

Right then, the pair of blue eyes focused on him.  "Heero," she whispered under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Never mind, William, I thought I just saw someone that I knew."  She looked towards the direction of where Heero was standing, but couldn't find him anywhere in the dense crowd.  

"We might as well start leaving and see the fireworks."

She nodded at his response.  And before long, the warm summer air surrounded the two.  They stood in with the crowd for about ten minutes as the fireworks exploded in front of them.  At times, there were whites and blues.  "I guess here comes the ending."  Everyone anticipated the loud ending as bright flashes of white mixed in with blue and red held their attention.  Relena covered her ears to prevent the loud deafening sound from ruining her hearing temporarily, she wasn't used to the loud noise.  With that, plumes of smoke floated away from the sight and everyone disbanded for the night.  

The two started to leave the circus grounds, hand in hand.   The streetlights were on with their candles flickering about.  The moonless night made it difficult to navigate around the small community with the streetlights spread out far apart from each other.  "I had a wonderful time tonight."

"Well, I'm glad.  I didn't know how the circus would turn out to be until now."

Relena looked ahead of her and saw her house in full view, a dim light was passing through the living room, "It looks like my mother stayed up for our date."

"I guess so."  The two continued up the path that led to the Peacecraft residence and stepped up onto the front porch.

"Well, good night then."  She was about to turn the doorknob, but she felt an arm pull her back.  She felt William's warm lips upon hers and a chill ran up her spine.  After the kiss, she opened her eyes and looked into his, and right then, she fell for his spell of love.

"Good night, Relena."

"Good night, William."  She was mesmerized and when entered the front door, her face was slightly flushed.

A voice trailed from the living room, "It looks like someone had a nice time tonight. Hmm?"

"Indeed, mother."

~*~

On the other side of the community, Hilde and Duo were walking back to her home.  "Duo, do you have a funny feeling about William Bennett?  Something doesn't seem right about him."

"What did you say?  You need to speak up, I can't hear what you're saying."

"Oh quit it, Duo.  The fireworks weren't that loud."

Duo then got on the serious side of their conversation, "I know what you mean.  He seemed to be on the defensive when I asked Relena to come by and visit."

"Maybe I should just warn Relena about him.  What do you think?"  

"I think you should, she's your friend and all.  How did you meet her in the first place?"

"Through my mother's friend.  She introduced me when the Peacecrafts came to Winfield for the summer about five years ago."

The two kept walking on through the dense forest, "Well, here we are."

"Thanks for walking me home, Duo.  I really had a great time…too bad that Heero wasn't here to see the show.  I'll stop by whenever I have some free time.  Good night."

"Good night, Hilde."  He watched a light in a hallway flicker on and with that, he began the long walk home back to his place.  On the way back, he nearly stumbled after tripping over an uprooted root of some tree, but recovered his balance.  

After walking for fifteen minutes, he finally made it back home.  As usual, he noticed a familiar glow coming from his living room.  "Heero."  He shook his head and entered through the front door.  "You missed a good show tonight, you know that?  Hilde was inquiring about you…she really wanted to see you.  Anyhow, she might stop by and visit sometime this week."  He looked into the living room and noticed that Heero was just staring at the flame of the candlestick.  "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine."  He left the room and headed straight upstairs to his room.  He had trouble sleeping again, but this time his dream took on a sudden twist.  He was walking down a familiar hallway.  The voice kept taunting him to catch up, blond hair trailed after the slender figure. Her dress was of a light linen gown.  Heero decided to follow in the steps of the mysterious apparition.  He turned around a corner and found a dead end.  The walls were darkened and floorboards creaked below him.  He turned around and headed for the exit, before him stood the figure.  "Relena?" he whispered.  She made no response to his question.  She continued to stare straight ahead of him.  

A sudden noise came behind her.  A flash of light and smoke lifted into the air.  Relena woke from her trance, "Heero," she whispered and collapsed onto the floor.  Her gown was beginning to turn red.  

He focused his attention to where Relena was standing and saw a figure disappear into the shadows for a moment.  He went back to her side, she had become more pale, as the blood seeped through her gown.  He was about to run out the door to get help, before he was met with his own demise.  He felt the bullet go through him…a splash of red before him…

Heero was awakened to a sudden jerk of his own body, along with a sound of rumbling thunder.  He immediately sat straight up on his bed and his breathing was rapid.  He looked out the window and noticed that a thunderstorm was starting.  The rain had started to pound against the windows and the walls.  His eyes became alert.

TBC


	6. Revelations

Hi everyone, well here's another chapter and thanks for all of the reviews.  Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

~*~

Revelations 

"Ms. Relena…time to get up now."  Trudy lightly knocked on the bedroom door.  

Inside her room, she slowly stirred in her bed, and looked at her window…the sun's rays barely shown through her lace curtains.  "I'm up, Trudy, thank you."  She lethargically removed the light covers that lay on top of her.  Her light pink nightgown was somewhat creased near the bottom as she walked towards her mirror.  She began to smooth out the knots that had formed from her night's slumber.  As she was combing her hair, the feelings from last night with William were still in her mind and then there was his kiss.  She didn't know what to really make of it…her first kiss.  The passion was there, but she felt like she wasn't quite in it…her body was there, but her mind was somewhere else.  Yes, the two have been going out since the late spring season, when her mother hosted the first Winfield dance at her home.  She felt uneasy of him after their encounter with Hilde and Duo.  The way he had ushered her out of the area was too quick and impolite in a sense, but of course, she knew that he was being an overprotective boyfriend.  She shrugged the hint of uneasiness away from her for the time being and dressed herself for the day in a pale yellow cotton summer dress.  With that, she walked out of her room and went downstairs to the dining room, where breakfast was being served.  She noticed that the household was quieter than usual on this particular morning.

The minute she set foot on the first floor, she noted that most of the maids were gone.  "Hmmm…"  She had a pensive look as she peered around the living room and then into the dining room, there was only one setting was laid out on the mahogany table.  Her eyes began to search in other various rooms that were near to her.

"Well, it's about time, Ms. Relena…I was just wondering when you'll be coming down for breakfast."  Trudy ushered her to her seat.  

"Trudy, where are my parents?"

"They had some urgent business back in Newberry, they should be back within two weeks at the latest.  I guess there was a little minor crisis at the mayor's office and they needed your father's help to solve the dispute.  Well, I'll be around if you need any assistance in anything."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."  Trudy then left the dining room and allowed Relena to eat in silence, since she knew that she never had any time to herself with her mother badgering her about William and how the two make a nice couple.

For the most part, Relena enjoyed the quiet solitude she had in her home, even though Trudy was waiting on her.  "Trudy, why don't you have the week off?  I mean I could get by."

"But, Ms. Relena, I can't just leave you here by yourself.  It wouldn't be right."

"I'll be fine, and besides, my mother has you working way too much at times.  You can come by anytime and visit me, since you live only three minutes away from me."

"Alright, Ms. Relena, I guess I could have a little time to myself.  Thank you."

"You're welcome."

 "Now don't forget, that I'll be around, if you need any help."

"I'll let you know, Trudy, I promise."  She walked Trudy out to the front door and watched her walk down the long broad path from her home.

She closed the door and decided to catch up on her reading in the living room.  The minute she opened the book, a knock was heard on the door.  Relena placed the book faced down on the floral decorated couch and quickly walked over to the door.  "I guess Trudy is back so soon."  She opened the door and to her amazement, Hilde was standing there.

~*~

Across Winfield, Zechs was securing wooden posts across his property.  Before long he was nearly finished.

"Zechs, don't you think you should take a break.  The summer heat will get to you if you're not too careful."

"I'm fine, Noin.  It's you that I'm worried about."

She then walked out with a pitcher of lemonade in her hand along with a glass full of ice.  "Here…take some of this."  

He knew that she wouldn't walk off unless he drank at least one glass of lemonade.  The summer sun was unrelenting in the early afternoon.  "I need to get this finished…I don't want trespassers on our land, while we're away."

Noin looked up from him and noticed someone coming down by the main road that ran only about twenty meters away from their small home.  "I wonder who could that be?"  Her eyes narrowed as the stranger walked closer to the two of them.

"Greetings, neighbors, I'm William Bennett."

"Well, good afternoon, Mr. Bennett.  May I offer you a glass of lemonade?"

"That won't be necessary, ma'am.  I couldn't help but notice that I had new neighbors."  He looked towards Zechs, who started working on his fence posts.

Zechs grabbed a small wooden hammer and started pounding on the wood piece, "I'm Zechs Marquise and that is my wife, Lucrezia.  We've just moved here not too long ago."

"Well, glad to meet the both of you.  I best be on my way now, I don't want to impede on your construction of your fence right now, it looks like you're about finished."  He started to walk back towards his own home.

Zechs then looked to Noin, "That's the William Bennett that everyone has been talking about in town."

"Really?"  

He nodded to her, "I don't like him, one bit."

"He seems to be well-mannered."  She returned to the front porch and placed the pitcher on a small patio table.  Her shoulder length hair was blowing in the breeze along with her light linen dress.  She found a seat and positioned herself in the shadow of the porch and watched Zechs.

"Relena should be careful about him…there's something shifty about him."  He didn't want to alarm Noin any further, even though he recognized William from the town's square from a previous incident.  He resumed working on the fence that enclosed their home.  "I think that should do the trick."  He finished hammering down the last wooden post into the dry soil.

"It's fine, Zechs.  You don't have to scrutinize it all day."  She saw him walking towards her.

"And how are you?"

"I'm fine.  The baby seems to be active, though."  Her hand was placed over her womb.  "You didn't even mention this to Relena yet, didn't you?"  
  

"Not quite yet."  His face glistened with sweat.  "I'll have the horses ready by this late afternoon, so we can make it to Boston in a matter of two days to see your family."

"Are you going to say goodbye to her?"

~*~

"Hilde, what brings you here?"

"I promised to Duo that I would see him later on.  Would like to join me later?"

"Well, I'm not too sure…maybe.  Would like to come in?"

Hilde walked into the foyer and Relena escorted her to the living room.  "I see that nothing has changed in this house since the last time I came."

"So how are your parents?"

"They're doing fine, my dad is still trading with some residents around town…though the family store went out of business in nearby Western Springs."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"We're getting by, but my mom's baking business is going well at county fairs.  Her chocolate chip cookies won first place at several of them."

"That's good to hear.  Is there something on your mind, Hilde?"

She caught her off guard.  Hilde bit the bottom of her lip, "Well…sort of…you know from last night…Duo and I noticed that William kind of acted strangely around you and us.  I'm saying this as friend…be careful around him.  Duo and I don't trust him that much, even though the town's gossip is running out of control about you too."

"I know what you mean, this morning I had that eerie feeling too.  He kissed me last night."

"And?"  Hilde's eyes widened with excitement.

"I don't know…it felt amazing and scary at the same time.  I mean I've only known him for at least a month and a half now, but it feels like I'm falling for him, but something is holding me back.  Never mind me, well how did you meet Duo?"

"We met at your mother's first dance of the season.  I found him near the dance floor and he politely asked me if I cared for a dance.  Later that night, I found out that he wasn't really invited…but I'm glad that he did came."  Hilde then looked towards a clock in the living room, "Well look at the time, it's nearly two o'clock, I promised Duo to be there right about now.  Want to come…it's now or never?"

"Well…alright then.  I guess it wouldn't hurt to look around, since my parents aren't home."

The two then walked over to the wooden door and Relena made sure she carried a key with her.  She scribed a note down for Trudy just in case she walked into the home and found no one there.  "We're all set."  Before long, the two were on a back road leading towards Duo's home.  "I haven't traveled down this road in ages it seems."

"It's no time like the present."  Within a matter of minutes, the house loomed in front of them, it's ionic columns shining in the afternoon.  "Here we are.  Isn't it beautiful."

Relena nodded and was entranced with its simplistic beauty.  The two continued to walk up the gravel path and Hilde knocked on the door.  

Before long, a pair of familiar wide eyes opened the door.   "Hilde, I'm glad that you could come."  He looked towards Relena's way, "Hello Relena.  Please come in the both of you."  The two accepted his offer and with that, he gave them the grand tour of his humble home.  Like all the homes around Winfield, the décor was mostly floral patterns on the walls along with wooden frames to accent the walls connecting to the various rooms.  He led the two upstairs and they walked upon the creaky floorboards.  "Up here, there are four main bedrooms and two guest rooms."  He then allowed the two to enter his room, since it was just cleaned on the previous day, and Hilde was especially interested.

"It's so dark in here.  You need to make this room more brighter…the curtains are too thick." 

"What's wrong with the dark?"

"Nothing, but it would seem nice to get some sunshine in once in awhile."

"I guess you're right.  This room has been like this for the past five years, when I first moved in with my parents.  Well see."  The three then left the room and started to walk down to the end of the hallway.

"Whose room is this?"  Relena was by a closed door.  

"Ummm…well that's Heero's room.  Come to think of it, where is he?  I haven't seen him all day.  I'll introduce you personally to him later on, if he shows up."

"That won't be necessary.  We met already a couple of weeks ago."

"Well, I'll give you a sneak peek."  Duo opened the door slightly and allowed Relena to peer from the doorframe.  To her surprise, the room was very well kept and that nothing was out of place.  The velvet chairs had some folded shirts on it and that she noticed that his bed was made.  With that, she left the doorframe and allowed Duo to shut the door quietly behind him, in hopes that Heero wouldn't notice that anyone was in his room.  They all then went back downstairs into the dining room, where a rectangular mahogany table was situated in the middle of the room.  The room was decorated in a blue hue and that rice paper accented the walls with its floral designs.  

"These designs are exquisite."

"My mom had those put up.  Would you ladies care for anything to drink?"  
  


Relena politely declined, while Hilde asked for a glass of water.  With that, Duo and Hilde decided to head over towards the kitchen that was located at the rear of the house.  Relena was left all to herself in the dining room.  She stood along the wall that faced opposite a window within the room and traced her fingertips on the fragile rice paper.  The grooves were smooth and they jutted out slightly from the surface of the wall.  In the background, she heard Hilde's and Duo's voices echoing in the nearest hallway from her.  She quietly mused to herself, "Those two are meant for each other.  Hilde was right about him."  She continued to trace the floral pattern on the wall.  To her fingers, the grooves seemed to be endless.

"What are you doing here?"  A voice resonated behind her.

Her fingers stopped in the middle of tracing a rose.  "Hello Heero, Duo invited me over here along with Hilde."  The two remained silent until they heard Duo and Hilde making their way back from the kitchen.  

"Well Heero, I'm glad that you finally graced us with your presence.  We'll leave you two alone."  He gave Heero a wink and escorted Hilde back to the front porch.  The two were conversing with one another on random gossip and past family vacations.

"Heero…" she looked towards his direction, "I don't know if I was dreaming or not…" she twisted a piece of yellow fabric on her dress with both of her hands, "were you at the circus grounds?"

"Maybe…it depends."  His voice was cool and calm.  He began to loosen the top button on his white linen shirt.  He started to walk over to where she stood.  

"I could have swore that I saw you once the last act was finished.  You were standing by one of the exits and…you looked my way and for a brief moment we saw each other." 

He stood just inches away from her, close enough to touch her skin.  He looked into her deep blue eyes, looking at their innocence, "You're right, you did see me."

The two remained silent again before Relena spoke again in hopes of breaking the silence, "I better leave now," she was about to leave to the living room, but then she saw his left arm in front of her, rendering her unable to leave.  "What are you up to now?"  Her eyes were filling with slight fear at the man that stood before her.  

"There's something that I need to tell you.  It's about William."

"What about him?  He seems to be a nice gentleman and we've been going out for the past couple of weeks."  She was about to walk out in the other direction, before he cornered her with both of his arms.  The two looked face to face with one another.  Relena looked into those Prussian eyes and saw that he was serious about something that was on his mind.

In Heero's mind, he couldn't decide on whether he should tell Relena the whole truth or not, and before he knew it, she escaped under his arms and headed for the living room.  

"I don't have time for any of your games, Heero.  You hate him, don't you?" she called after him.

That question made him stop dead in his tracks.  She had hit the target.  Ever since he had first seen her out on the lake on his return to Winfield, he couldn't stop of thinking of her, even though he tried to suppress his feelings from her and from Duo.  It was evident he cares for her.  When he saw her body lay in the meadow, his heart skipped a beat and for a moment in that time, he thought he had killed her after the run-in with her horse.  

She then snapped him back to reality, "Are you going to answer my question?"

"Just be careful around him, I don't want to see you get hurt."  The images from his nightmare surfaced in his mind.

She noticed that Heero was in a trance-like state for a brief moment, "Heero…are you alright?"  It was the same look that he had given her a couple of minutes before.  His glazed eyes stared directly into hers and it sent a chill up her spine.  Through his eyes, she felt a secret that he was hiding from her.  

In less than two minutes, Heero came back to his normal self, "Just be careful."  He brushed passed her and walked out of the living room.  His footsteps echoed in the hallway as headed to the rear of the house.  He couldn't face her anymore, not right now.  The secret that he held about William was tearing in his mind and for the rest of the afternoon, it wouldn't fade away from his conscience any time soon.  He needed to do something, but what?

Relena stood in the living room perplexed as to what Heero was holding back.  She had never seen him worry over her before.  On the previous occasions, she saw how he would always distance himself from her.  He was always cold, but today there was something different in his demeanor.  She walked over to the front door and stood in the shadow.  She spied on Hilde and looked at how she could be so open with Duo.  She saw the two laugh endlessly and thought to herself how it would be wonderful to be in a relationship like Hilde's.  With that thought, she forced herself to leave Duo's home and the moment she pushed the door open, she thanked Duo for his kind hospitality and said goodbye to the couple.  

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" asked a pleading Duo.  "We're having fried chicken."

"It's very kind of you, but I better start heading home.  Thank you again."  She started to head out behind the house.  She heard Hilde called after her.

"Do you want someone to follow you?" she yelled after her.

She turned around, "I'll be fine, Hilde.  I'll see you around."

"Alright then…bye."  

Relena slowly traversed the back road that led to her home.  The sun was slowly sinking into the horizon and with that the trees began to cast their shadows on the road.  The shadows splashed against her yellow summer dress as she continued to walk down the narrow road.  Before long, she reached her home and entered it.  She noticed that Trudy must have stopped by, since she smelled the aroma of a cooked dinner that was waiting for her in the dinning room.  In the room, Trudy had setup a pitcher of ice cold water with a small sampling of meatloaf and mash potatoes…something else caught her attention.  It was a piece of folded paper that sat next to her dinner.  She figured that Trudy must have picked up it from somewhere.

She picked it up and noticed the familiar penmanship.  "I stopped by earlier this afternoon, but no one was home…Noin and I will be leaving town for Boston this afternoon.  I haven't told you about this, but we're going to have a baby.  I was just looking for the right time to say this to you, but there was always so much gossip running about.  Take care…your brother…"  She looked up from the note and a small smile concealed her happiness for her sister-in-law and older brother.  

~*~

In the town square, a carriage pulled up next to the grocery store.  A woman dressed in a red summer dress emerged.  Her hands donned black lace gloves.  She politely thanked the coachmen for pulling out her luggage that consisted of a small bag.  With her luggage, she walked out of the town square and headed out to the countryside.  It was nearly dusk, but she continued to make her way down the dirt path.  Her red dress barely touched the ground, but she recognized the familiar setting…before her loomed the whitewashed house.  It's lights faintly glowing through the lower level rooms.  She continued to walk steadily up the small ridge and before long, she stood in front of the screen door and gingerly knocked on it.  Her sandy brown hair was in ringlets that cascaded down her back.  

"Surprise to see me?"

His mouth dropped in shock, as he stood looking at the lady in front of him.  A pair of familiar eyes pierced the darkness.  "Most definitely.  I thought you were on a carriage heading to Boston."

"I had to come back and see you.  I couldn't stand the thought of waiting over three months until our next meeting."  She lightly kissed him on his warm lips.

"I would have sent word to you about when I'll be coming.  Couldn't you have waited still?"

"You know how I am."  She slightly teased him with her fingers.

~*~

With all the good news spinning about in her mind, Relena quickly ate dinner and decided to go out on a walk later that evening.  She scribed another note for Trudy just in case she happened to walk into the home and found that no one was around.  With that, she exited through the back door and walked into her expanse backyard.  The summer night was mild in temperature and at last, she could revel in the quiet night, since her parents weren't home.  She passed through the back gate and walked down to the lake.  Its waters rippled about under the moonlight.  She looked up into the night sky and right above her, Pegasus was there.  She saw its square outline and an arch of stars coming off from the lower right corner.  She knew she was facing in a northeast direction.  A summer breeze blew through her light dress as she continued to look up.  The next thing hers caught was Andromeda and Perseus.  The constellations weren't too far apart from one another.  Considering the fact that Andromeda extends out of Pegasus, while Perseus wasn't too far behind from Andromeda.

She stood in the twilight for awhile, just trying to recognize other constellations she knew about.  It was a hobby of hers as long as she remembered…it was her father that took her out on one summer's eve in Newberry.  That's when her love for the stars started…that was the first time she had seen Pegasus and the others.  After catching a last glimpse of Pegasus, she decided to walk over to Zechs's and Noin's home, just to make sure that they didn't leave anything behind.  She knew that she shouldn't be walking alone in the middle of the night, but in Winfield, the area was fairly safe except on some occasions, there have been wolves roaming about, but nothing too threatening.  She passed by the old Coopers' place and noticed that William was still up at the time.  "I should visit him some time," she mused at the thought of it.  She passed by his white washed fence and saw her brother's home looking dark and well kept in the night.  The pale moonlight sprawled over the wooden beams.  She walked passed the newly created fence and crossed the main yard.  It was hard to see in the darkness, but she quickly scanned the area and found nothing out of the ordinary lying around.  The only regret that she had right now was not personally visiting them before they left.

She then made her way down to the main road and started to head over to William's.  It was her first time seeing his house and that surprising him will be a joy to her.  "So this is where he lives…," she whispered quietly to herself as she saw the back end of his home, "it's not too shabby."  She went over to the front and saw a dim glow coming from living room still.  She lightly walked up the steps and noticed that the front screen door was open, allowing her to catch a glimpse of the foyer that had a small table situated near the wall.  She heard a woman's laugh coming from the living room.  She peered over and there he was holding her…the laces of her corset were beginning to become undone.  She was despised at what she saw and right at that moment, a knot formed in her stomach.  She hated him for doing this to her and before she knew it, anger took over her emotions and she immediately ran from the front steps.

"Who was that dear?" 

"I don't know…I'm going to find out."  He quickly left Celeste on a couch and ran out the front door.  His eyes barely caught the image of the stranger and with that he decided to run after the figure.    

Relena ran as fast as she could down the dirt road, she felt that her heart had smashed into a thousand glass-jagged pieces.  Before long, she felt a hand grab hold of her.  "Let me go, William," her voice was sharp and cold as ice.  "I don't want to see you.  I saw her…how could you do this to me.  I never want to talk to you ever again.  The secret is out."  She pushed him aside and continued to run.

William grabbed hold of her again and made her face him.  He saw the fire blazing in her eyes along with the tears.  He then felt a sharp slap across his left cheek.  "You're not going anywhere…not right now."  His eyes flashed with anger.  Right then, a new side of him was finally revealed to her…

TBC

How was that?  Hopefully, I'm not too OOC on some characters even though this is AU.  Stay tuned for chapter 7.  Reviews?…


	7. Pegasus

Hi everyone!!! Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.   
  
Pegasus  
  
~*~  
  
William's hold on her arms was even getting tighter. "You're not going anywhere, not right now until we settle this."  
  
Her voice rang out loud, piercing the quiet darkness, "What's there to settle...you were with her. Who is she?" Fire was still blazing her in eyes.   
  
"She's a friend of mine." He tried to reason with her.  
  
"Well it doesn't look like that to me. It looks like you were smitten with her."  
  
"Please, Relena, give me another chance."  
  
"No...let me go right now," she demanded. She kicked him in the left knee and she felt his hold loosen somewhat. "I can't believe I nearly trusted you with my heart. There's nothing left for us. All of my friends warned me about you, but I didn't really see the truth until tonight." Her voice echoed around the area.   
  
She walked away from William, who sat on the ground since he was still stunned by her attack. She called back to him, "I don't want to ever see your face again." She continued to walk down the darken dirt path under the moonlighted night. Tears were glistening on her cheeks as it captured the soft light from the evening.   
  
William watched her as her figure disappeared behind a grove of trees. He slowly got up from the ground, while his left knee was badly bruised. His gait was somewhat unsteady as he made his way back to his residence. He looked towards his front porch and saw Celeste standing there in the glow of the screen door. Her dress and hair were fixed. He saw the disapproval in her eyes.  
  
"I heard the whole thing," her voice was as a cold as ice. Her foot tapped lightly on the wooden boards below her. "You've been hiding this from my back...haven't you?" William didn't reply. The color on his face drained completely as his whole life was caving in on him. "I'm leaving now, this is goodbye for good. I truly see your true self now." She quickly walked off from the front porch and passed William.  
  
"Wait, let me explain." William ran after her and grabbed her right arm. She just pushed him aside like a pesky mosquito.   
  
"Like she said 'there's nothing left for us,'" she started to walk off into the twilight with her luggage in her arms. And never did once did she look back to her former lover, who stood in the middle of his field. She quietly made her way back to the town square and waited for a carriage to take her back to Boston. A few of the townspeople looked her way, but she hid her profile under a cloak that she had carried with her. Their gazes made her uneasy, but she ignored them. For the hour that she waited, she pondered on her relationship with William. The two had met at a family picnic that the Bennets' were hosting. A friend that was a cousin to William had invited her to come over seeing that Celeste didn't get out as much and with that, Celeste gladly obliged to join her. It was there that she met him under the gazebo. He was trying to avoid the other prospective ladies that had him in their sights. As for her, she wanted to find a quiet place to herself since she didn't know anyone at the picnic. She stood at one of the marble posts and looked out at the guests, not knowing that William on the other side. The two then accidentally bumped into each other and from that moment, her heart had skipped a beat. His hazel eyes looked upon her face. The sound of hoofs pounding the pavement brought her out of her daydreaming. She waited for the carriage to come to a complete stop.  
  
"Wait!!" A man's voice boomed down the street. William was making his way to her location.   
  
Celeste kept her gaze in front of her and with that she took one step in front of her and entered the carriage. The coachmen closed the door behind her as she found a seat in the dimly lighted carriage. "Can we please talk about this, Celeste?" He was breathing rapidly after his labored walk.   
  
"There's nothing to say. You heard what Relena said." Not once did she look into his eyes. "I need to go back home, and resume my life from there. What we had long ago, you threw it out the window in an instant." Her voice was beginning to waver, "I can't go on like this, not anymore." The carriage started to move. "Farewell, Bennet."   
  
William began to run alongside the carriage as long as he could before his endurance failed him. He nearly collapsed to the ground as he caught the last sight of the carriage before it disappeared into the evening's fog. The tone of Celeste's last statement wasn't too pleasing to his ears and he knew it was over for sure. Some of the townspeople made quick glances towards him and quickly went back to their own business. He was ruined for sure after tonight's revelation. William stared down the open road in disbelief that she was gone and before long, he started to hear short rumors spreading about him and his affair.   
  
A woman's voice was heard, "There's that Bennet boy. I can't believe him, hurting Relena like that."   
  
"I know, her mother will be in the center of scrutiny soon," replied another voice.   
  
"Ssh, he might hear us."  
  
William looked their way, but the two quickly disappeared into the fog. He slowly got up and stealthily walked back to his home. It was the only place where he could find some comfort from his troubles and away from the social networks of the town's gossips. He lethargically sat a wooden chair that was situated in his living room. The only light that was left came from a lamplight that was fueled by kerosene. He slowly stared into the flames that danced within the clear vessel, emotions of resentment and bitterness were starting to take hold of him. He continued to stare into the single flame and an obsession was starting to manifest itself slowly in his conscience.  
  
~*~  
  
Relena walked quietly back to her favorite spot. The lake was still for this time of night, its waters reflected the jeweled sky on its surface. She found a seat on a fallen tree and sat there, just focusing her sight in front of her. Her cheeks still felt wet from the tears that she shed. "Why am I such a fool?" she continued to cry under the stars for some time. "I should have seen it coming." She then felt a hand on her back, thinking it was William that followed her, "Go away, William. Don't you dare touch me!" She quickly got up and pushed the hand away from her. "I don't want to see your face ever again." She quickly ran away from him, but she felt like she was being pulled back to him.  
  
"I'm not William."  
  
Relena stopped struggling for a minute and with that, she knew who it was. "Let me go, Heero. You knew all along. Just let me go!!" She tried pushing him away from her, but his hold around her waist didn't falter.  
  
"I can't."  
  
She yelled back to him, trying to fight her tears, "Are you just trying to ruin my reputation, because after tonight, you finally accomplished your goal then. The gossip will be like a wild fire for the following days." She continued to struggle against his hold. "I can never figure you out or even with your mind games that you always seem to play." Then she heard the unthinkable.  
  
"I'm sorry...I should have been more direct in the first place. None of this would have happened or ended like this. I tried to warn you but I kept freezing up."   
  
She finally stopped struggling against him after hearing his first sentence that finally made some sense to her. She turned around to face him, she finalized the true meaning of his message that he gave her earlier in the afternoon. She felt that he was hiding something from her and now she knew. Feelings of guilt washed across her and for once she knew that Heero was trying to protect her from the truth...was it a sign of his own feelings for her? She then apologized to him, "No...it's my fault for not listening carefully."  
  
"But..."   
  
She placed her fingers up to his lips and silenced him, "The signs were there, but I blocked them from my mind." She looked away from him and tears trickled down her cheek again.  
  
He lifted her chin back towards him and wiped away one tear from her right side with his index finger. "We played our parts." He looked down towards her and she acknowledged his statement. He tried to start a conversation with her and unknowingly a sentenced emerged from his lips, "I saw you staring at the stars this evening."  
  
"Do you often spy on me?"  
  
Heero didn't respond to that question, but looked up at the night-sky.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes then." She stopped her crying and a smile was slowly returned to her face, but she shielded her heart more carefully than ever. The two continued to stand there for a while, just admiring the serene settings. Relena noticed that Pegasus, Andromeda, and Perseus, were now in a different location in the darken sky. The threesome were now hovering deeper in the abyss.  
  
"What are you looking at?"  
  
"Pegasus."  
  
"The winged horse from Greek mythology."  
  
She nodded. "It's the constellation that looks like a boxed square." She pointed it out to him. "You see it?"  
  
"I see it."  
  
The two were close to each other that they could kiss, but they didn't. Heero knew that Relena needed some space for the time being. He looked towards her and noticed that sadness was still present in her eyes, but he didn't say anything. Relena then broke the silence, "I better be heading back home. Trudy would wonder where I've been all this time, even though I left her a note."   
  
"Let me walk with you home."   
  
"That won't be necessary, Heero. I can manage. Thank you."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"I'm sure, good night."  
  
"Good night." He watched her disappear into the darkness like she did the first time when he saw her by the lake. And for the first time in many nights, he felt somewhat relieved that the truth was finally out, but the same dream kept plaguing him...the dream of Relena dying in his arms.  
  
~*~  
  
Relena slowly made her way back to her home, the moonlight did little good as she made her way through the dense brush. But after fifteen minutes, she finally made it home. The front door was slightly jarred open and she knew that there would be one unhappy maid in the house for the time being. She walked quietly as she could through the front door without being noticed hopefully.  
  
"Where on earth have you been Ms. Relena?" Trudy was standing in a gray cotton dress. "I've been scared out of my wits."  
  
"Well, I'm home now." She gave a meek smile to reassure her maid that everything was fine.   
  
But, Trudy knew better, after working with her for these past five years, Trudy knew when Relena was lying about something, "I think your hiding something young lady. You can never get by with that smile of yours. There's something on your mind."  
  
She shut the door behind her. "It's true." She looked defeated and she started to walk over to the staircase and sat on one of the lower steps. "Where should I begin?" she let out a sigh of agitation.   
  
Trudy then sat next to her. "Did something happen?"  
  
"I found William cheating on me and I broke up with him."  
  
"You poor thing. I'm sorry to hear that." She noticed that Relena's eyes were welling up with tears again. She took Relena into her arms and rocked her, "It's alright, go ahead and cry." And so she did. "You'll get through this, I know you can." For the rest of the night, Relena knew that there would be turbulent days coming in Winfield with the news of her breakup with William.   
  
~*~  
  
A week had passed, but the town's rumors were still spreading.  
  
Relena slowly opened her eyes and found herself in her room, she tried to avoid the public at any expense, which meant she stayed mainly indoors for the past week. She knew that she had to get up sometime soon or Trudy would have to drag her out of bed like she has been doing. She slowly rose and sat at the edge of her bed. She felt like her heart had been smashed into a thousand pieces. With time slipping by, she finally decided to prepare for another day in Winfield, hoping to stay out of the limelight of the rampant gossip that was going about. She dressed herself in a modest pink summer dress and walked down to the dining area. As usual, Trudy had prepared her breakfast and left her alone for the morning, but she knew that Trudy was around in the kitchen if she needed anything. She heard her footsteps in the area.   
  
"You can go home, Trudy, I'll be fine."  
  
"I'm not leaving you alone today, Ms. Relena. But, I'll stay out of your way. How about that?" she called from the kitchen hallway.  
  
"Deal." With that, Relena began her breakfast and started her usual routine of reading after breakfast. For the most part, the day was fairly quiet with occasional phone calls coming from her mother's gossip network about the breakup and the incident with William and Celeste that seemed to never die down.  
  
Right then, a knock was heard from the front door. Relena dreaded at the possibility of who stood on the other side of the door. She didn't want to meet any of her mother's friends including Martha, she didn't want to answer any of their nosy and prodding questions. She reluctantly left her seat on the couch and cautiously walked up to the barrier that separated her from the outside world of Winfield. She took a breath in and turned the brass knob.   
  
"Hi, Relena."   
  
"Hi, Hilde, please come in."  
  
She stepped into the foyer and was led to the living room, "How are you holding up? I heard the news this morning when I walked into the town square for some shopping at the market. My family and I just got back from Western Springs. I can't believe the nerve of that idiot."  
  
"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Enough about me, how was the dinner at Duo's the other week?"  
  
"It was great, he nearly made a fool out of himself in serving the hot chicken legs. He used a tong to pick one up, but in the process of doing so, he nearly tripped over a stool he had in the kitchen. He quickly regained his balance, though."  
  
"I should have been there."  
  
"Maybe next time."  
  
"Maybe." She then became distracted, "I almost forgot my mother baked these for you." She handed her a silver tin filled with small chocolate chip cookies. "She figured that you needed some cheering up."  
  
"Thank your mom for me."  
  
"I will. You need any help around here?"  
  
"I'm fine, Trudy's here with me."  
  
"You know where you can find me." With that, Hilde walked over to Duo's on the summer afternoon.  
  
Relena gingerly held the tin in her hands and she walked over to her seat on the couch. She nibbled on two small cookies before she finally made up her mind. She went over to where Trudy sat in the expanse kitchen, she saw her taking the tips off the pea pods, "I'm going out for a horseback ride."  
  
"Well it's about time you got some fresh air," she smiled towards Relena, "Just remember dinner will be at the usual time." She resumed back to her task.  
  
With the approval from Trudy, Relena quickly walked back to her room and changed into her riding dress and headed out the front door to the stables. She noticed that Wufei wasn't there today, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed the sounds of the stable when no one was around. Right then, a familiar pair of black eyes peered towards her and she gave her the usual routine of sugar cubes in her hands. She took her horse out of the stall and tied the reins to a small post. She then got a large brush and started to groom her horse. "There you go, I think that looks much better now." She then fitted her horse with her saddle and then they were off. This was the first time that Relena ventured out into the opening, but she still wanted to avoid any nosy neighbors that wanted to gossip still.  
  
The two headed off towards the back roads that lead to her brother's home. On her way there, she passed William's home and noticed that it looked vacant. "It figures for him to leave town. Come on girl, let's do a full canter now." The two trotted off, leaving a trail of white behind them. She eventually arrived at her destination and steered her horse in the direction of her home. As she was trotting along the back road, she heard a carriage come from behind her.  
  
"Good afternoon, Relena." A woman's voice boomed cheerfully.  
  
Relena knew who it was and forced a fake smile onto her face. She was hoping to avoid the notorious gossiper in Winfield. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Grant."  
  
"I'm glad that you're finally coming out and getting some fresh air. I'm sorry to hear about your breakup with William. He seemed to be the perfect match for you."  
  
She continued to follow the older woman's train of thought. "I guess it wasn't meant to be." Her mare started to yank at the reins, urging her to leave Martha. Relena ignored her horse's yearnings and ordered the mare to walk at the speed of the carriage.   
  
"You should stop by my home one of these days. We do need to catch up a little. Your mother would always stop by, but now she's in Newberry."  
  
"Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Grant, but that won't be necessary." She knew that whatever she disclosed to Martha, it would all be twisted into a fib of some sort. "I best be on my way now, I don't want to bother you any further."  
  
"Alright, Relena, take care." Martha ordered her horses to move faster and before she left, "Oh Relena, dear, I'll be hosting a cotillion later this weekend and I would be honored if you could join me."  
  
She knew that she couldn't refuse one of the most respected socialites in Winfield, otherwise it would just dishonor her family's name, "I will be obliged to attend."  
  
"Great then, I'll see you on Saturday at seven o'clock. Now don't be late."  
  
"Bye Mrs. Grant." She watched Martha ride her carriage into town and she then muttered under breath, "Here we go again." She continued her slow walk back to her home. She should have listened to her horse's urges to leave Martha right at the very moment she hinted it. Now she knew that she had a dilemma on her hand, it would be her first public appearance since her breakup with William and with that, all the town's eyes will be on her at the cotillion. She led her horse back down a familiar trail that leads to the lake. The path was wide enough for her mare to pass through and the ground wasn't too steep for them to traverse on. Before long, the two arrived at the foot of the lake with its slightly rocky shoreline. She dismounted from her mare and allowed her to take a sip of water.   
  
Relena walked over to a cluster of trees and sat in the shade. She laid on her back and looked up towards the canopy of green leaves. The sun's rays glinted through the foliage as the breeze began to pick up. Her mare decided to join her. "Hey girl." Relena then got up to a standing position and patted her horse's neck and side. "I think you should become my Pegasus for now. What do you think?"  
  
The chestnut mare nayed in response to thought of the question. She then left Relena's side and headed towards the lake again. Walking in and out of the shallow area, splashing water as she trotted around. The summer heat was finally getting to her.  
  
"I guess a swim doesn't sound like a bad idea right now...too bad that I didn't bring my swim suit with me today." She doubted that anyone was around and in moments, she stripped down to her white undergarments and hid her clothes in a bush. She then quickly immersed herself in the cool lake water. At first she shivered slightly in the cold water, but eventually she adjusted to it and swam just a couple of yards away from the shore. She then bobbed a couple of times and then finally submerged herself in the clear blue water. Below her, she looked towards the surface and saw the sun's rays at a different perspective, as her long hair floated about her. She then resurfaced and treaded the water. She noticed that her horse was still grazing at a small bush, but something else had caught her eye, it was a black horse. She then dove back down, thinking that she was just dreaming and that it wasn't there at all. She then surfaced again and noticed that it was still there. She looked around her surroundings but couldn't find the owner of that horse anywhere. She swam over to where her clothes were and was about to emerge from the water.  
  
"Surprise."  
  
Relena then looked up in shock, "Heero." She started to tread water, since she didn't want him to see her in her undergarments.   
  
"I see you are taking an afternoon swim."  
  
"Yes and I was about to leave. Could you please move out of my way so I could get my clothes?"  
  
He stood there defying her wish and before long, he removed his shirt and jumped into the water himself.   
  
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" she called out to him.  
  
He responded, "I'm taking a swim. What else does it look like?"  
  
"I'm leaving then." She paddled her way to the shore, but Heero swam alongside her. She quickly walked off onto the shore and Heero followed in pursuit.   
  
"Just wait a minute, there something..." He ran in front of her and pulled her into his arms and his wet body. Relena was somewhat alarmed at first, but surrendered to him. Then it happened, she felt his warm lips upon hers and before long she felt his hands across her back. Her heart thumped rapidly as he continued to kiss her and before she knew it, she had kissed him back. She felt her breasts brush against his chest. The two stood in their position for a few more minutes, before they both ran out of air. Heero released her from his grasp and controlled his breathing again. He didn't know what to say, but he remembered something that Relena had said to her horse just fifteen minutes before, "Will you let me be your Pegasus now?" He saw her smile back towards him.   
  
~*~   
  
Somewhere off in the dense brush, a pair of hazel eyes was looking at the young couple. "So she chose him...interesting. I will win you back, Relena." He then abruptly disappeared and rode off on a dirt path with his Appaloosa.   
  
TBC  
  
So, how was this chapter? The joys of cliffhangers (hehe). Thank you for reading this chapter and please let me know what you think. And a big thanks goes out to all of the reviewers so far: Jem Star, Dark Dragon, RVD, sdfdsd, Juniper, and Dragon of Death2. I really appreciate all of your comments and THANK YOU!!! ^_^ 


	8. Feelings Unleashed

Hi everyone, I'm finally updating...sorry for the long delay. ^^; Thanks for the reviews from the last time I updated, which was like back in August. Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, but the characters of Celeste and William are mine.   
  
Symee-Sama: Yeah, William is going to start creating more trouble in later chapters. (Oops, I said too much already. ^^)   
  
Feelings Unleashed  
  
~*~  
  
Heero and Relena continued to stand in the shade of a tree on the summer afternoon, even though the shaded area slowly began recede from the two. The afternoon heat nearly dried the two from their swim. Relena looked away from Heero, as she felt his eyes looking towards her way. She felt like everything was coming too soon. It was just a week that she had learned the truth about William. Yes she liked Heero secretly, but she felt it wasn't the right time yet. She needed to think things through. She didn't know what to say to him or how to react, but she now knew his true feelings, which eased her conscience a bit.   
  
"I need to get back home, it's getting late." She left the comfort of the once shaded area and back to her pile of clothes. The summer heat dissipated somewhat to a lesser degree. She quickly dressed herself in her riding uniform, which was just a simple plain blue dress along with her black riding boots. She still felt his eyes on her, but she then turned around and noticed that Heero had disappeared. "I still can't seem to figure him out." She felt a slight blush coming onto her face, but she quickly walked over to her mare and mounted into the saddle. With that, she left the friendly serene surroundings of the lake and headed back to her parents' mansion.   
  
The ride home went uneventful as she watched the familiar surroundings being bathed in the familiar orange glow of the setting sun. The summer breezes were starting to pick up, blowing her hair from behind her. She continued to trot slowly until the familiar stables appeared before her. Before the entrance to the wooden structure, she dismounted from her horse and grabbed a hand-sized brush. "You like that don't you?"   
  
The brown mare neighed in delight. She smiled and saw her reflection in her horse's dark eyes. "So what do you think about Heero Yuy?" She didn't know if the horse understood her question or not, but unexpectedly the mare nudged her. "I guess you do approve of him." Relena then decided to go along with the response, "What about William Bennett?" She watched her horse paw into the ground disapprovingly and laughed out loud, not knowing if anyone would hear her. "Are you trying to get an extra sugar cube from me?" She looked teasingly at her horse, but she handed her horse a sugar cube anyway and in less than a second, it was gone from the palm of her right hand. She continued to groom down the brown back and then gave the tail a quick brush, taking away stray grass clippings from the black hair. "There you go...all nice and clean now." She led her horse back into its stall and made sure that the feed was still plentiful for the night and early morning. She patted the mare and closed the stable doors for the night, even though there still was some daylight left.  
  
She quickly traversed the large backyard and entered through the back. The minute she walked into the kitchen, she saw Trudy just preparing her dinner. "It's about time you came home. I was about to send out a search party for you."   
  
"Very funny." She smiled to the woman.  
  
"I see the fresh air did do some good for you after all. You're still blushing slightly."  
  
"What?" She felt her cheeks flush slightly again.  
  
"I wondered what happened on your afternoon ride. Would you care to enlighten me?" The woman gave a ponderous look towards her.  
  
"Umm...where should I begin...well I went for an afternoon swim by the lake and then out of nowhere he came." She twisted her skirt slightly, which gave Trudy a hint that she was still hiding something from her.  
  
"Who?"   
  
"Heero Yuy...he's currently staying at the Maxwell residence."  
  
"I see." The woman didn't look up from the pot that she was stirring, but a small smirk was appearing on her face.  
  
"I was about to leave and he... kissed me right there."  
  
"Well it's about time."  
  
"I beg your pardon." Shock was shown across her face, not knowing why Trudy had said that.   
  
"I've seen the look in your eyes...a woman in love. That Bennett boy, he wasn't your type to begin with."  
  
"And how do you know?" She looked questioningly at her maid of five years.  
  
"He always carried a strange aura around him. The first time I ever saw him was at the dance that your mother hosted. He seemed to be an uptight fellow at times."  
  
"Are you sure you're not confusing Heero with him?"  
  
"I am quite sure." Her statement was filled with confidence. She had remembered the day when Heero had first appeared in that early dawn of that summer day. She saw Relena leave earlier with her chestnut mare, as she was making her way to the residence to start her morning chores. She didn't say a word to her employers because she knew that Relena needed time to herself. And as luck would have it, just when she was on the front steps leading towards the mansion, she saw another rider with short brown hair was heading towards Relena's direction. She noted the youth in him, as he sat straight in his saddle, keeping in perfect unison with his black horse. She smiled to herself knowing that something was beginning to form right before her very own eyes.   
  
Relena then brought Trudy out of her memory that she was reminiscing about. "Oh sorry dear, I was just thinking about something. That's all. At my age, you always look back and dote on the little things that happened." She quickly stirred the thickening pot of cream of rice soup. "I think this is about right." She lifted the wooden spoon from the hot creamy abyss and watched the liquid slowly fall back into the pot. "Dinner is served." She quickly filled two large soup bowls with generous servings of the pale yellow soup filled with rice, chicken, and a variety of vegetables. Relena then helped her with one of the bowls and sat at the kitchen table.  
  
She couldn't help but wonder what the older woman was thinking about. With a perplexed look on her face, she asked her directly, "What were you thinking about a moment ago?"  
  
"Oh nothing, just nothing. Now eat your soup."   
  
~*~  
  
"I see that you're back from your afternoon ride as usual," smirked Duo. He saw his friend sit at a chair at the kitchen table. "You seem to be in happier spirits than normal."  
  
Heero didn't reply at all to his friend's curious statement. During his afternoon rendezvous with Relena, he felt a burden was lifted from him finally. But, what was this feeling he was starting to have? All the thoughts and emotions in him were starting to conflict with one another. His afternoon kiss with Relena was short, and yet he felt something come to life. This feeling was driving him crazy. He looked at a small candle in front of him. The flame slowly ebbing away along with the wax that melted under the intense flame.   
  
"Not going to have your daily drink?" Duo looked worriedly at his friend.  
  
"No, not tonight." Heero continued to stare into the flame. Memories from his recurrent nightmare flashed in his mind again. The maze of hallways teased his every move as he made his way from the one end to another. The floorboards creaked underneath his weight as he walked. In the background, a constant mockery of laughter echoed along his darken path. And then finally, he made his way into a room, where he finds her...standing by an open window with a light gown on. He noticed that she was looking out towards the night sky, but then she turns to him with a soft smile gracing her face. The two embraced one another and he was just about to kiss her...  
  
"BANG!"  
  
Heero suddenly came out of his reverie and his body immediately tensed up.   
  
"Sorry about that Heero, I just dropped a pan in the kitchen. Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." He slowly calmed down his breathing again. He didn't know why he was having these recurrent nightmares. In one of them, he saw William with a gun his in hands, and in others, he fantasizes about Relena. But lately, they have been showing the signs of death more frequently than ever.   
  
Duo resumed his place in the kitchen. Thanks to Hilde, he has been learning to cook other meals instead of cooking fried chicken practically every week. But the majority of his meals, turned out to be something else more atrocious at times than he had planned originally.  
  
"What are we having for dinner this night? I hope it's not fried chicken."  
  
"Hah, very funny. For your information, I think its meatloaf from what it looks like." Duo took the burnt meal out of the oven and stuck it with a fork. "I think it's done...a little too over done though." He saw Heero walk into the kitchen, eyeing the new cook cautiously.  
  
"Are there any leftovers in the ice box?"  
  
"I'm pretty sure." Before he took his eyes off the meatloaf, he noticed that Heero wasn't there at all. "He has no confidence in my cooking skills whatsoever."   
  
"I heard that," a voice called from the dining room table. The sounds of plates and silverware filtered towards the kitchen. "I have the chicken here."  
  
Duo sluggishly walked towards his dining room and noted his friend already chewing on a leg. "It figures." He then grabbed a thigh and started to chew on the cold piece of meat. "There's nothing like fried chicken." After taking a couple of large bites, he then mentioned something that interested Heero, "I heard that Martha Grant will host some kind of party this coming weekend and that a certain someone will be in attendance." He saw a slight pause in Heero's chewing from where he sat at the dining room table.   
  
~*~  
  
"You look like you could use a drink." A bartender in his early thirties donning a black curled moustache quickly filled a shot of whiskey for the poor man, who looked like he had been through hell.   
  
William sat lazily at a bar. His eyes were filled with circles from previous drinks that he had from the days before. The ride from Winfield was too much for him. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of his breakup from both Celeste and Relena.   
  
"So what brings you here to this small town of Western Springs?" The bartender capped the bottle to the whiskey he had opened just a minute ago.  
  
William swirled the cool liquid in his glass, "Just visiting. That's all."  
  
"You sure? It looks like there's more to your story."  
  
"Hmph." He pulled out a couple of loose change to pay for his shot of whiskey. "Thanks for the drink."   
  
"Whatever you say." He then resumed back to the cleaning of his glasses that littered the countered. "That boy has some serious issues to deal with."  
  
Outside, William staggered his way back to his lodgings. He had picked a small inn, where he knew he wouldn't know anyone and vice versa. The building from the outside had cracked boards that needed to be fixed, while in the inside, it housed simple furniture and the front desk donned a marble table with a small brass bell.   
  
"Good afternoon, Mr. Bennett." An old man wearing thick glasses appeared at the front desk. "So how are you today?"  
  
"I'm fine, Mr. Holman," he replied curtly. In truth, his mind raged with revenge for his break ups from Relena and Celeste. "I'm heading back to my room now. Good day now."  
  
"The same to you too."   
  
He then saw the old man resume his record keeping in a leather-bound ledger that was located by the side of the marble front desk. He slowly walked up the steps and walked to his room, which was just a door away from the staircase. After he had fumbled with the keys, he staggered into his room and collapsed onto his unmade bed. He laid there for several hours for the remainder of the day.  
  
For the weeks that had passed since his breakups, he slowly drowned the memories of Relena and Celeste in a variety of drinks, hoping to suppress the burning words from the two women. At times it had worked, but the thoughts of Relena resurfaced over and over again in his mind. Eventually his feelings of her became an obsession, which needed to be fed. That was when he saw him...the man with the Prussian eyes and brown hair kissing her.  
  
The scene of the two young lovers burned in him as he seethed at the thought. He muttered several incoherent curses under his breath as he laid in his bed. It was nearly nightfall. "One day Relena...you'll be mine." He smiled and a flash of evil was seen in his hazel eyes. "We'll meet again...you can count on that." Sleep eventually overcame his body, rendering him unconscious for awhile, but a plan was beginning to materialize in his mind. The elimination of Heero Yuy...  
  
~*~  
  
TBC  
  
Well, how was that for chapter eight? I know...an evil cliffhanger. :) Please review, I would greatly appreciate the feedback. Until then, take care everyone and have a happy new year! 


	9. We Meet Again

Hi everyone...here's chapter nine!!! Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.   
  
demee: Thanks for your review and yes...William is a lowlife villain. ^^  
  
Ladybug: Aww...thanks. Well, the wait is now over for this chapter. ^_~   
  
Sakura123: Yeah, the Victorian era has always fascinated me and so, I thought I would write an AU fic with my favorite couple...Heero and Relena. Hopefully, I'm getting better at the romance part, but I'm still trying. ^_^ As for the century aspect of it, it's set in the 19th...I sometimes confuse the numbers myself. lol   
  
We Meet Again  
  
~*~  
  
Two days had passed...  
  
"Miss Relena, you have only two hours to get ready for Martha's dance." Trudy called from the hallway.  
  
"Thanks for the warning, Trudy. I'll be ready soon. I hate going to these dances." She adjusted her corset that tugged at her body again. The constricting necessity was making it hard for her to breath from what she could tie from the back.   
  
"At least you're making some progress in reemerging back into the social life of Winfield." Trudy was now at the foot of her bedroom door.  
  
"Oh please..." She motioned for her to enter to finish knotting the white fabric.  
  
Trudy quickly knotted the loose strings together and she continued their conversation, "Just teasing...who knows...Heero could be there?" She saw the reaction in Relena's face, which showed a little blush. "You do like him." She gave an acknowledging look toward the young woman. "Well, I better stop chatting and let you get ready now."  
  
Relena smiled to her maid and friend. "Thanks Trudy. Any news from my parents, yet?"  
  
"No, not today. I'm sure they'll be back in a matter of days." The woman could tell that Relena was beginning to worry. She decided to change the subject to a lighter one, "So, what dress do you think you'll be wearing for the evening dance?"  
  
"I was thinking of the rose chiffon dress that laces in the back."  
  
"That would be a lovely dress." Trudy went over to the closet and pulled out the lightweight dress. "Is it me, but I think most of your wardrobe is in pink... well almost?" She heard a laugh coming from the young woman.  
  
"Funny, Trudy, very funny."   
  
"It's good to hear you laugh again." She then helped Relena into the dark pink dress and helped her with her hair. She slowly twisted the long honey blonde hair into a coiffure that was eventually decorated by a matching ribbon. By the time the two were finished, it was nearly time for the dance. "You do look stunning." Trudy nearly cried as she saw how beautiful the young woman was.  
  
"Thank you, Trudy. I better be off now, Martha will probably wonder why I haven't showed up yet. If she does send a messenger, tell him that I'm already on my way.  
  
"Alright, just be careful now."  
  
"I'll see you later then."  
  
"Have fun." The woman quickly ushered Relena out of the vast mansion and she watched her enter a small carriage that was prepared for the night's festivities. The one-man driver gently escorted her to her seat. Inside the carriage, she smoothed out the wrinkles to her dress and she then felt the carriage start. She heard one of the lanterns gently clang against the wooden frame of the carriage, but she didn't mind at all. The ride to Martha's would only last a couple of minutes. Before long, she felt the carriage come to a stop and the door was opened. She gave the driver her right hand that was gloved and she slowly emerged into the summer night.   
  
"Thank you, sir."   
  
"I'll be waiting to escort you back to your residence." He bowed to her.  
  
"Alright then." She thanked him in return and slowly walked to Martha's front porch. She could already see that there were a couple of guests sitting in one of the guest rooms. The light from her lamps glowed through the lace curtains that donned the room. "Here goes nothing." She rang the doorbell and in seconds, the familiar socialite of Winfield appeared before her. Her black dress seemed to sparkle in the light of her own home.   
  
"Hello Relena. We all have been expecting you for quite a while." She smiled to the young woman dressed in the rose chiffon dress. "Please, do come in." The old woman then called out to her other guests, "Look who's here."   
  
All eyes then focused on Relena, who was now in a more precarious situation than before. She didn't want all of the attention that Martha was giving to her now. It seemed like with her mother's absence, Martha decided to pick up the role of playing the matchmaker for her. To lighten the mood in the waiting room filled with lavish plush furniture and electric lamps, she greeted everyone individually to maintain her position within the circle of socialites of Winfield. Otherwise if she disrespected any of them, the Peacecraft name would be frowned upon. That's why she hated some of these social functions in Winfield, if she hadn't shown up to Martha's party, everyone would start to have rumors about her and her family. It was a game that she couldn't win...no matter how hard she tried to escape.  
  
After she had greeted everyone, Martha moved the entire party to her glass garden that was connected to the main house and with that opportunity; she decided to showcase the room. Inside the glass garden, the guests saw white rose bushes and a variety of orchids. To their amazement, a small water fountain was situated in the middle of the garden. The fountain consisted of a short cement pedestal and top of it, stood a winged cupid. The winged cupid was aiming his arrow at some invisible target, but at the same time, water spurted out from the tip of his arrow and cascaded back down into the pool of water.  
  
"This is truly amazing, Martha. I don't know how you do it." A woman wearing a forest green evening dress commented on the serene garden.   
  
"Well thank you, Lily." She then allowed the guests to meander around for a while and admire her lovely garden. She waited patiently for her guests to complete their mini excursions and she then called out to the group, "May I have your attention, the dancing shall now begin in the dance room, where dinner will also be served." The clicking of a variety of footsteps ranged throughout the glass structure, as the group made its way to the dance room, which was similar in size to the Peacecraft's dance hall, but with more modern luxuries such as electricity.   
  
Relena slowly complied to Martha's request and sat at the dinner table with Martha and her friends. She longed to be at home, where she could find more useful chatter with Trudy. She heard one of Martha's friends bring up the issue about William Bennett. She knew that she couldn't evade the issue any longer due to the fact that Martha told everyone that she remained in her home for two weeks after the shocking revelation.   
  
"So how are you truly holding up my dear?" A woman in her early thirties with bright brown eyes and black hair asked the question. She wore the dark forest colored dress. All the others at the table tuned their ears on their conversation in hopes of gaining a little dirt on the Peacecraft.  
  
"Well, Lily, I'm doing fine now. Thank you for asking." Relena tried to hide as much information from the curious socialites.  
  
"Well that's good to hear indeed. I hear that Bennett boy is still lingering around here. When I was visiting my sister in Western Springs, I could have sworn that I saw him at an inn over there. Why did you break up with him?"  
  
"If you [all] must know, I found him cheating on me." She gauged the reaction of the table and noticed how shocked they were to see the truth. In return, she knew that Martha was setting her up for more town gossip.  
  
"I didn't know that," commented Martha. "All I heard was that the two of you quickly dissolved the relationship." She sipped a cup of her creamed coffee.  
  
Relena just nodded at her mother's friend. Now she knew why her mother was so gossipy during these social functions. She figured it must have rubbed off from Martha. She then looked towards the grandfather clock that was situated nearby. The face of it showed that two hours had passed from the start of the party. "Well, it was nice talking to all of you and catching up. If you would please excuse me, I need some fresh air."   
  
"But you haven't even danced yet dear," protested Martha.  
  
"That won't be necessary tonight, but thank you for your offer. Good night everyone." She gracefully left the table, where the ladies were wondering why she was off in a hurry.   
  
"She seems to be awfully rude today," quipped Lily. The others at the table looked to each other and shrugged the incident off. With that, the group dressed in their summer's best resumed eating their dinner, while a couple of other guests began to dance on the ballroom floor.   
  
As for Relena, she approached the glass doors, but was stopped by a guest wearing a black tail coat. The man asked her for a dance, but she politely refused him. She quickly walked out of the vast dance room with the other guests minding their own business for once.   
  
  
  
With that, she retreated to Martha's glass garden, where she was overcome with anger and betrayal due to Martha's plan. The conversation she had with the women was one of Martha's ways to get the actual "scoop" in love affairs that filtered throughout the small town. "I can't believe that nerve of that woman sometimes." She clenched her fists at her sides and decided to take a short walk through the garden. She slowly returned back to her normal self and eventually took refuge by a small white rose bush. The scent of its sweet smell intoxicated her body and drowned out the useless chatter she had heard minutes before. While at the same time, she heard the water splashing about within the fountain, but the sound of it was music to her ears.   
  
~*~  
  
Outside by the main road, a familiar Appaloosa slowly walked about. The rider was somewhat fatigued, but his hazel eyes were concealed well under his black hat. Passersby greeted the stranger, not knowing it was someone they had known from the early summer season. They all assumed that he was from some close town and was just passing through.   
  
Word of Mrs. Grant's dance filtered throughout the small area. He had heard of the news from a woman, who was greeting her sister in Western Springs. Hearing the name of Relena within earshot of the women's conversation enlightened him. He thought about returning to Winfield soon afterwards the conversation, in hopes of winning back her heart, but at the same time, he needed a way to eliminate one obstacle in his path. Before his return, he had purchased a small pistol from a local dealer.   
  
He continued to travel down the main road of Winfield and eventually he came upon the Grant residence. The lights were on full and he heard a string quartet play music in the background. He didn't see her in his sight and he didn't want to attract any attention towards himself as he was snooping around the premises. He nudged his horse further down to a side road and decided to hide in the darkness of the forest. His eyes carefully scanned the area to see if anyone left the residence and he was hoping that one of them had honey blonde hair...otherwise if it was [him], he would set his plan into motion.   
  
~*~  
  
Relena continued to admire the peacefulness of the serene garden, but eventually she had enough of it. She sneaked out to the front door and saw that her coachman was still there. "I've decided to walk home for the night. You can go home now."  
  
"But miss," the coachman looked worried.  
  
"I'll be fine. But thank you for waiting." She took out her purse and gave him some money to pay for the trouble of waiting on her.  
  
"Thank you, Miss Peacecraft. You have a good night then." He climbed up to his seat and drove off into the main town.  
  
She started off to the side road and headed off into the night. The sounds of the night life echoed throughout the trees. Since the night was still young, she decided to head towards the direction of the lake. The fireflies twisted about from one area to another as she walked along the well-worn path. Within minutes, she saw the lake in her sight with the moon's reflection right at the crystal surface.   
  
She undid her coiffure by loosening the rose ribbon and her honey blonde hair tumbled downward towards her lower back. Some of the strands caught the moonlight and reflected a golden glow, as she walked about the shoreline. In the background, she heard twigs break and wondered what could have triggered those sounds. She carefully picked up a branch and hid it close to a fallen log. Her blue eyes flashed around the area to see anything out of the ordinary, but she couldn't find anything. She then resumed her walk, but stayed close to the fallen log. She heard footsteps coming towards her, but with the darkness, it was hard to pinpoint what was coming towards her.  
  
"Who's there?" Alarm was in her voice.  
  
"You sure don't miss anything...do you?"   
  
The voice slowly registered in her memory and she finally realized who it was. "William...what are you doing here?" The appearance of him still shocked her. "How did you know I was here?"  
  
He evaded her second question but answered the first one, "I came to see you." He approached more closely to her. "I heard that Mrs. Grant was hosting a dance tonight and that you were supposed to be there. I should correct myself...well you were there, but then left."  
  
"Have you been spying on me?" She walked closer to the fallen log and pretended to be preoccupied with her dress.  
  
"Well, not really."   
  
His hazel eyes looked innocent, but she sensed something wasn't right. She smelled whiskey in his breath. "Have you been drinking?"  
  
"Yes." He came closer to her than before and was within arms reach of her. "You look more lovely than ever."   
  
She then produced the branch she had hidden and swatted him. "Stay back now. Don't you come even closer or I will hit you again."  
  
"There's no need for that." He took a step and was met with a sudden poke in his right arm. "I just came here to apologize to you for my actions, I'm sorry. Can't we start over again?"  
  
She continued to hold the branch in striking distance of him, "We can't... what's done is done. I can never forgive you for cheating on me. You must leave now."  
  
"Or you do what? Swat me with that branch of yours? We're far from the town and no one can come to your aid," he quipped in a mocking tone. He walked closer towards her with the moonlight casting a sinister glow about him.  
  
"Stay back, I warned you!" She swatted him again, but it didn't affect him at all. She continued her futile attacks. Within minutes, he grabbed the branch out of her hands and shook her violently by her shoulders.   
  
"Just give me a second chance," he pleaded with her.  
  
"No!!" She wrestled out of his strong hold and tried to run towards the trees and back to her home. She felt a strong grasp about her waist. "Get off of me." She elbowed him in his abdominal area and he fell into the moist dirt.   
  
"Why do you have to make this difficult?" He grunted. He started after her again, but she knew that it was the whiskey making him more delusional than ever. He saw that she had another branch in her hands and was prepared to strike. He charged towards her and felt whacks about his shoulders and arms. He ripped the branch out of her hands and slapped her to the ground, but she quickly got up and ran from him.   
  
She screamed on the top of her lungs, hoping someone would hear her cries, "Hel...p!" She felt his hand cover her mouth, but she bit back in response. "You will never have me, William." She gritted her teeth during the struggle and continued to fight him off. The strength from her surprised him and he knew this wasn't over yet.  
  
He continued to make advances towards her and enveloped her within his hold. The two landed on the soft ground. She continued to struggle with him, but it was useless, he was beginning to have the upper hand in this struggle. She then had one more trick up her sleeve and grabbed a fistful of dirt. When he thought she had surrendered, she threw the dirt into his eyes and he screamed in pain.  
  
"You wench!!"   
  
Relena saw it as an opportunity to escape, but she had barely time to move out from his reach. Before she knew it, he had grabbed hold of her once more and now she feared for her life. He pinned her down to the ground and began attacking at the laces of her dress, "You will do what as I say, you hear me!!" He screamed at her.   
  
"I'm not yours, not for all eternity. You're drunk!!!" She shouted back in hopes of putting some sense back into the transformed man. She breathed heavily from their struggle as he continued his rampage. She felt his hold loosen somewhat at one moment and kicked him in his groin, just like what she had done to Heero the first time that she saw him. She saw the pain he felt and he doubled over. This was her last chance to get out of his way and she wanted to make it count.   
  
She quickly pushed his pathetic body out of her way and ran to the cover of the trees, but then she felt his hold around her waist and they both fell again. The two laid motionless on the semi-rocky ground and Relena laid on her left arm that was underneath her, but a small pool of crimson was beginning to trickle down her forehead.  
  
~*~  
  
Back at Duo's residence, both Duo and Heero were just sitting in the back patio, taking in the cool summer night. Two nights before, Duo had mentioned about the Mrs. Grant's dance, but it didn't have the affect that Duo wanted from his friend.  
  
"Did you hear that?" An alarmed Heero gazed into the open darkness.  
  
"Hear what?" Duo took a sip of his brandy. "I didn't hear anything."  
  
"Hn." He looked worriedly out into the night and felt something was wrong. In the corner of his eyesight, he saw a flutter of birds emerging from the trees. "That's strange."  
  
"There could be some wild animal nearby...probably disturbed the bird population." Duo looked towards the direction, where Heero was looking at.  
  
"I'm not too sure though."  
  
"Like I said it's nothing for you to worry about."  
  
"Well for you it isn't, but I'm not used to these parts of the woods."  
  
"Oh come on, you've been here before." He took another sip of his cold brandy. "You do have Relena on your mind." He took a quick look at his friend and caught him off his guard. "Hah, I was right."  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He replied in his usual monotone voice and was trying to evade the issue at hand.  
  
"Stop playing games with your heart, Heero. It's obvious you [like] her, I catch you daydreaming about her. You haven't been yourself during this whole summer to be a matter of fact." He finally caught his friend at his own game. "One night, I heard you say her name out loud in your sleep."  
  
"You're lying." He gave a deadly glare at his friend.  
  
"You said her name out during the summer storm that we had just a couple of weeks ago. It seemed to me that you were having a nightmare of some sort." He finally hit the root of Heero's problems and noticed how silent his friend had become.   
  
"You're no doctor."  
  
"I know that, but I think I've finally figured you out for once."   
  
"Hn." He continued to stare in the direction from where the flock of birds came from. All off a sudden, a robin had landed in front of the two men with a something in his beak. He cautiously moved his right hand towards the small creature and took the object from him. In the moonlight, the ribbon glistened with hues of pink along with softened light from the moon.  
  
"I wonder how that bird got to it?" Duo blinked a couple of times to make sure that he was seeing a robin at the wooden post of his patio.  
  
"This is Relena's."  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"I've seen this ribbon before." He examined the ribbon closely and noticed something else that was out of the ordinary. There were bloodstains on it. "I need to find her now." He quickly left his seat and headed off to the woods behind Duo's home.  
  
"Hey wait for me!" He shouted out towards his friend, who already disappeared into the dimly lighted forest.  
  
TBC  
  
Another evil cliffhanger...hmm...will Heero get there in time? Or has he fallen prey to William's trap? ... Well, thanks for reading and please review. THANK YOU!!! :)  
  
Important author's note: I won't be updating periodically, since I'm starting my spring semester, in which I have to balance two science courses...organic chemistry and physics. But if you're wondering when I'll be posting, I'll be happy to send you an email. Well, I truly thank you for reading this far and I hope you'll stay for more upcoming chapters. And THANKS for all of your reviews, it means so much to me and I'm glad that you're enjoying the story!!! Bye for now.   
  
~Water Lily2~ 


	10. Vindication

Hi everyone, sorry about the long delay...I just finished my midterms this week, anyhow, as promised here's chapter ten! Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.   
  
Kiera: Thanks for your encouragement...I finally have some down time to update! ^^  
  
Kawaii-Kero-Suppi: Thank you for your review...at times I wonder when I'll ever have the time to finish...hopefully soon. ^^;  
  
Katel Belacqua: We'll see what happens and thanks for finding my story... ^_^  
  
Sakura123: The conflict between William and Heero is going to get interesting... Gracias for the review! ^_~  
  
Ladybug: Well, the month wait is over for the cliffhanger! Aww, thanks for the comparison (blushes - I'm nowhere near their writing styles and techniques)...Emily Bronte is one my favorite authors. ^_^  
  
Vindication  
  
~*~  
  
A pair of hazel eyes blinked within the darkness...his eyes showed disorientation along with blurred vision. The darkness didn't do any good for him until he blinked a couple of more times before adjusting his vision. Events from before were slowly coming back to him. He looked over to where Relena was and noticed that a small trickle of blood ran down on the side of her head. At the same, he noticed that her chest still rose, which meant that she was still alive for the time being. He slowly crawled towards her and started to caress her forehead. He tugged at the silk chiffon and slowly revealed her slender shoulders. Her skin was pale as the moonlight. He softly kissed her on her cool rose-colored lips and forced himself upon her, pulling the fabric away from her torso. The only barrier left was her corset.  
  
Relena felt somebody was on top of her and her eyesight was blurred from the fall. She then looked up to the eyes of her assailant and saw it was William. "Get off of me," her voice was hoarse from screaming at him. She felt a hand being placed over her mouth as she tried to give out one last scream. Tears began to roll down her face and she tasted the salt within in her mouth. She felt his hands beginning to roam harder on her chest and she kicked him frantically to get him off. All she felt was him...pinning her to the ground. She heard sounds of fabric ripping and she continued to feel the force of his hands upon one of her breasts that was still covered. She cried out in pain and was hoping that someone would hear her cries for help.  
  
"This is for ruining my reputation on that night." He forced a hard kiss upon her and continued his rampage. Eventually, her strength slowly drained from her and she fainted in exhaustion from fighting him and from her injury to her head.   
  
"Get off of her, you bastard!" Heero lunged at William, forcing him off of Relena. He began to throw punches at the weak man. The two struggled for minutes, while Heero outwitted him away from her. "You're a true coward." His Prussian eyes flashed against the darkness as he continued to block William's punches.   
  
"You're always getting in my way," agitation was building in his voice. Seeing that his punches were useless, he decided to lunge at Heero. Before he knew, he had stumbled over a small root that stuck out from the camouflaged ground and was met with a mouthful of arid dirt.   
  
"Figures." He looked over to where Relena lay and saw the mess that William had made. The pink fabric was torn to her waistline, while her corset barely remained intact. He quickly took off his own shirt and covered her with his. He noticed the trickle of metallic liquid running down the right hand side of her head. Her honey blonde hair was beginning to become drenched in the crimson color.  
  
"Hold on Relena. Please hold on." He was about to lift her off the ground and bring her back to the safety of her home, but he heard something else...the setting of a pistol to be precise.  
  
"You're the one that took her away from me after everyone found out about my little secret." He held the silver object steadily in his hand.  
  
"You're the one that ruined it for yourself. You have only yourself to blame." His monotone voice showed no emotion, but it went deep into the heart of the matter. Heero slowly walked to the opening by the lake and gently laid Relena on the ground. The sounds of William's footsteps were still echoing from behind him. "She needs help. Put the pistol down." He was about to turn to face the ex-boyfriend.  
  
"I don't think we're going anywhere tonight until this matter is settled...and there's only one solution to it all." He cocked the pistol and had his index finger wrapped around the trigger. "I had enough of you...meddling into my life and affairs." In a second, he released the trigger and a bullet had hit its target. A splash of red soaked through his white under shirt. He moved his right hand and covered the wound on his back, but he then staggered a couple of steps before collapsing on the soft moist ground. His breathing became labored and his eyes became clouded and lifeless.   
  
"Goodbye Mr. Yuy."  
  
Relena awoke to the sound of the gunfire. "Heero," she whispered, but it was still audible to William. "No!!!" She got up from her spot and ran to his side, noticing that his summer shirt shielded her from unwanted stares.  
  
"So you're awake now." William encroached upon the couple.  
  
"William!!!" She was now angrier than ever and she scratched at his face for his attack on her and for Heero. "You're not getting away with this!" She scratched with renewed energy and ferocity, but then she felt something sharp enter through her abdominal area. She stopped her in tracks and looked down, "Why?" She held her hands over her wound and slowly walked towards him, shock filled her eyes. Her blue eyes were becoming dull and lifeless, "Murderer..." She then collapsed into his arms.   
  
He then dropped her to the ground and he fell forward too. He had succeeded in his plans in ridding his problem, but at the same time, he had also destroyed his possibility of ever being with Relena. She now lay limp in his arms. To cover up his tracks, he slowly carried her body to the edge of the lake and he entered into the cool shallow water. He continued for a few more meters until he was far from the shore and dumped her body. The color of dark red slowly equilibrated in the cool liquid. Without looking back, he swam to the shoreline and saw where Heero still laid...motionless. With a quick once over at the scene, he quickly rode off on his Appaloosa and into the darkness. The sounds of hooves became fainter and fainter until only the crickets were heard fiddling in the night.  
  
~*~  
  
"Heero, where did you go?" Duo mumbled to himself as he continued his trek in the dark forest. In the minutes that had passed by, he also heard two shots in the dark, but shrugged them off. He slowly regained his balance from drinking one glass of brandy, but it wasn't enough to completely waste him. After walking endlessly through the forest, it actually helped him sober up. He passed by Hilde's and noticed a familiar pair of eyes staring in his direction.  
  
"What are you up to on this fine summer evening, Mr. Maxwell?"  
  
He just loved the sound of her sweet voice, "Hello Hilde and a good evening to you too. I'm just trying to find Heero." A sign of concern was present in his voice. "He ran off just about twenty minutes ago and he had a worried look."  
  
"Is something wrong?" Hilde was beginning to worry too. "I heard two gunshots nearby here and I thought it was just a duel or something."  
  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you this."  
  
"Try me, I have all the time right now."   
  
"Well, a robin came by to my back patio and had a pink ribbon in its beak. Heero took the ribbon from it and noticed that there was blood on it. He said that it was Relena's ribbon." He looked towards Hilde and saw her running towards him.  
  
"We have to find them. There were rumors in town that William Bennet was back. I'll go to Relena's and see if she made it home safely."  
  
"But I can't just let you walk alone at night."  
  
Hilde protested, "I'll be fine. Just go find Heero."  
  
The two departed on their separate paths. Duo turned around and saw Hilde run into the direction of the Peacecraft mansion. He then resumed his own path that encircled the dark forest. He continued down on the path and something caught his eye. A trail of hoof prints was seen coming out from the dense brush and then merging with the main path. "That's odd." He decided to follow this peculiar trail and his pace began to quicken. The scenery became familiar to him in the dark moonlighted night.  
  
~*~  
  
Hilde ran as fast as she could. Her summer dress wasn't doing any justice for her evening run...it only hindered her in the process. "Blast this dress, I just hope everything is all right." She saw a couple in her path, "Please excuse me, this is an emergency!" she yelled as politely as she could and ran passed the curious couple. Before long, she ran up the path leading towards the mansion. A light in the living room glowed softly through the open window. "This might be a good sign."  
  
She quickly ran up the steps and banged loudly on the door. She saw a woman holding a candleholder through the glass window.   
  
"Hilde, what brings you here at this time?" The appearance of Relena's friend stunned the maid in this late hour.  
  
"No time to explain," she was clutching her chest and trying to catch her breath at the same time, "Is Relena home?" She continued to breath in deeply.  
  
"No, why?" A confused look graced her face.  
  
"Something's wrong then. I have to go." She ran back down the steps and left Trudy wondering what on earth was going on.  
  
The old woman quickly wrapped herself in a shawl and followed Hilde into the darkness. "Where are we going?" She was desperately trying to catch up to her.  
  
"To the lake." Hilde called back to her and continued to run with all of her strength in hopes of finding her friend.  
  
"All right then." With that the two women continued to run down the well-worn path behind the house. The scent of pine trees and other summer flowers nearby were overwhelming their senses. In the distance, the lake gleamed under the moonlight.   
  
In a matter of two minutes, the two women converged onto the scene and so did Duo. To their horror, they found Heero lying in the ground still, but alive. He couldn't move at all and Duo quickly rushed over to aid his friend.   
  
"What happened here?" He noticed the wound to his back and ripped a piece of his own shirt to help stop the bleeding.  
  
"Relena help her." His voice was weak, but stable enough to speak, "He threw her into the lake."   
  
"NO!!" Hilde cried out in horror and was about to enter herself, but was restrained by Trudy. "I need to help her. " She brushed Trudy off to the side, but Duo stepped in front of her.  
  
"I'm going in for her." Before Hilde had anytime to contest to his request, he quickly kicked off his shoes and his outer summer shirt. He dove right into the deep end of the lake and searched for Relena. The summer moonlight made it somewhat easier in his search. He scanned the reflective waters to see anything was out of the ordinary, but there wasn't any. With that in mind, he dove underwater...the darkness was unbearable and the moon looked more of a disfigured apparition. He swam over to a cluster of objects that was littered on the lake's floor, but it was just a pile of rotted wood. Before long, he resurfaced gasping for air.   
  
Hilde called out to him from the shore, "Any luck yet?"  
  
"No...it's too dark to find anything in the dive...only thing I found was a pile of rotted wood." He began to tread the water and blinked a couple of times to adjust to the darkness again after resurfacing. He continued his swim and saw something floating close to a dense cluster of bushes that lined the far end of the lake. "Please let it be her." He quickly swam to the body and noticed that she was still face up. "Just hang in there." He carefully cradled her in his arms, as he tried to swim to shore.  
  
In minutes, the two were out of the water. "We need help here." He looked towards Hilde and knew that she got the message. She quickly ran off to find some help from anyone that was nearby and called for a doctor to be at the Peacecraft Residence.   
  
Trudy gingerly wrapped Relena in her shawl and cradled her in her arms. She was trying to keep her warm and noticed the gunshot wound. "Please let her be all right." She cried softly and hugged the young lady continually...hopping her embrace would bring her back to life.   
  
Duo made sure to keep Heero awake and applied more pressure to his wound. "You were right all along."  
  
Heero winced slightly as he tried to shift to look at Relena. All he could do was watch. He looked over to the trees and saw lanterns coming down one of the paths that led to their location.   
  
A familiar female voice was heard in the background, "Help's coming now. The doctor is waiting back at the mansion."   
  
"Hang in there my friend, help is on its way."   
  
"It's about time." His breathing became labored and stared out into the night sky. He saw a shooting star streak by, his Prussian eyes tried following its trajectory...he then closed his eyes.  
  
"Heero!" The scream rumbled throughout the summer evening, giving everyone a haunting awakening.  
  
TBC   
  
Well, how was that? I know I'm throwing cliffhangers everywhere. ^^; Will Heero and Relena survive? Or will William get away with murder...? Thanks for reading and please review. Thank you! :) 


	11. Hurdles

Hi everyone...wow...thank you so much for the responses from last chapter...I just kept throwing cliffhangers out there. Hopefully, I didn't let you all down with this chapter, I've been pretty busy lately. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

Wing: Yeah, I pretty much got the same response from everyone else that Heero and Relena MUST live...I guess we'll all have to wait and see. Thanks for reviewing. 

Vixencat: Thanks for your comments and good luck writing on your stories too! 

Melodi Moon: Your question will be answered in this chapter. 

Haruya: Hmmm...I could be an evil authoress...hehe. 

Ladybug: Well, I can't say about the ending yet...though most likely there will be twists. 

Sakura123: I wouldn't leave William out of the picture yet...hint hint!!! 

jero: Yeah, I hear you...; 

CrimsonDragon: Thanks for the review...yeah I just love putting out cliffhangers. 

hikaru-wings: The wait is over.

* * *

Hurdles

* * *

The small group of townspeople looked onward as an entourage emerged from the trees. They saw a male and female lying on wooden boards with their clothes soaked in blood. To their eyes they couldn't believe that something could happen in the town of Winfield. Their safety net had been broken and now a killer was on the loose. 

"Get out of the way!" A man shouted from the front of the line. He quickly ran to the front steps and prepared the way for the team. 

The doctor was already waiting at the front door with her light brown hair braided. Hilde already informed her of the situation and the names of the two young victims. She already prepared herself for the major task that lay ahead of her by prepping the dining room as the main trauma center...she didn't dare to send her patients to her main clinic in town...the only reason was that too much time would have been wasted. 

"Where do you want the basin of warm water at?" One of her nurses held the large porcelain vessel in her hands.

"Over by the small table next to the dining room." She went over to the foyer and grabbed her white apron and placed it over the front of her dress. She quickly knotted the two strings together in the back. She could already see a faint light coming from the side of the road. "Everyone get ready." She rolled her sleeves up to her elbows.

Right then, the entourage finally made its way to the Peacecraft mansion. The small group of men laid the victims on the ground and Sally quickly assessed their injuries. She noticed the gunshot wounds to the both of them and that Relena was barely conscious at all. "This is not good." She looked at their clothes and noticed that both were drenched in their own blood. She called out to the small group at the entrance of the door, "We might need a blood transfusion later on if any complications arise. Is anyone willing to give blood later?" She saw a couple of hands rose in the air. "All right then, I'll have one of my nurses take down your names and addresses. Afterwards, all of you are free to go, but I might just keep one or two of you here in case of an emergency." She saw the group nod their heads in agreement and she went on her way.

Duo then went up to Sally, "Will they be all right?"

"It's too early to tell, but I need to operate on Relena first. For now, just apply more pressure to his back."

"Okay then." He did what the doctor him to do, "Just hang in there," he whispered. He looked up and saw a rush of people moving Relena's body to the dining room. He saw Sally draw up a makeshift curtain to block everyone's view from the surgery in case anyone had the faint of heart from the sight of blood. All he could see were the silhouettes of Sally and a couple of nurses moving about the room. He heard the use of scissors and saw the removal of clothing. He bent his head down and began to pray for his friends' safety.

* * *

"I need more chloroform." A nurse grabbed the small brown jar and poured the colorless liquid onto a small facial towel. She immediately handed the moistened towel to Sally and she gingerly placed it over Relena's nose and mouth. She then went over to her set of surgical tools and found a small pair forceps and tweezers. Luckily for her, the bullet didn't go to far into Relena's abdominal area due to the fact that her corset's thick material reduced the severity of the gunshot. She quickly grabbed the tweezers and pulled out the red metallic piece and dropped it into a bowl. 

A nurse then handed her a small sterilized needle and a long line of thread to sew up the gash. "Just hang in there Relena, we're almost finished." She continued to stitch the wound up and looked at the pan beside Relena's body...water was still dripping out of the small pipe that she had inserted prior to the surgery. 

"Sally do you think we should add a second line in?" One of her worried nurses looked up from the sight.

"Find me a small pump...hopefully the pressure can draw out some more water."

The nurse quickly obliged to her request and went over to the medical supplies that the group had brought earlier. She fumbled through the equipment and pulled out a small hand held brass pump. "I found it."

"Good...now place the tip of it into the small tube and slowly pull up with the handle. Once the handle is near the top, release the pump from the tube and see how much water still drips." She continued to make the last finishing touches to her stitching and with that, she grabbed the scissors and cut the black thread. "How is the water flowing now?"

"It's coming to a stop."

She let out a sigh of relief. One hurdle was down, but she knew that Relena had still some obstacles ahead of in her recovery. "Just monitor her for now and let me know if her condition changes." She then went over and pulled a light blanket over her body. She then left the room and saw Trudy sitting patiently on the small couch in the living room. "You can see her now, but she's unconscious. We won't know anything until she wakes up. I've done all I can for her." 

"Thank you, Dr. Po." She slowly rose from her seat and went to the dining room. "Is there anything else I can do for now?"

"Is it a possibility if Heero stays here for the night?"

"It shouldn't be a problem at all. There are plenty of guest rooms in this house. There's one on your left when you walk up the stairs."

She acknowledged the maid's response and made a mental note about it. She then left Trudy and went over to the basin of water and plunged her hands into the lukewarm liquid, which transformed quickly into a crimson red. She then went for a bar of soap and quickly washed her hands in the same liquid. With that, she grabbed a clean towel and wiped her hands on it. She saw Duo in the next room and saw his weary eyes. 

"Hey there...how is Heero doing?" She pulled one of her loose strands of hair back into place. 

"I don't know...is he going to die?" A worried look came across his face. 

With determination and affirmation in her voice, "Not if I can help it." She ordered one of her nurses to bring the surgical cart to where she was sitting. "Is everything sterilized?" 

"Yes."

"All right then, let's get this over with." It dawned on her that this operation would be trickier than Relena's. The gunshot wound that Heero presented was on his back. She needed some special platform to support his head face down. If she laid him on his side, the bullet might shift and might harm vital organs that are nearby. 

"Okay let's think things through before we begin." She looked around the room to see if there was another long table that was available, but there wasn't. She went back to the dining room to see how Relena was doing and checked her pulse, which was gaining some strength. She noticed that Trudy was still with the young lady. "Trudy, do you think you're able to help me move her to the living room?"

"Is it safe for us to do that?" The woman was worried to death that the move could kill the nineteen year old.

"She should be stable enough. I made sure that the stitches won't open. I need this table for Heero's operation."

"All right then." The maid reluctantly got up from her seat and went over to Relena's side. With the help of a group of nurses, Sally, and her, they all moved Relena to a couch in the living room. Sally made sure that all the water from her lungs had drained out and immediately stitched the small opening. She then placed a small makeshift bandage on the area and made sure her vitals were still stable. "Okay, she made it through the first part and now we wait." She gave Trudy the go ahead to nurse Relena, while she went back to the dining room to prep for Heero. She ordered her nurses to fashion a makeshift platform, where Heero's head would be looking face down at the floor. With everything in order, she ordered his body be placed on the table with his back facing her. In minutes, she began the surgery using the same routine that she had done on Relena...tracing the path of the bullet until she found the mass in the flesh. For Heero, she noticed that the bullet barely missed his kidneys just by a few centimeters. She found the bullet in his lower back and immediately grabbed the tweezers and pulled the object out. She made sure that there weren't any other fragments from the bullet. Otherwise, if she missed a fragment, it could possibly cause an infection in his lower back and that his recovery would be endangered. 

"Needle and thread please." A nurse handed her the objects and was about to stitch the incision that she had made half an hour before.

"More chloroform?" 

"That won't be necessary, I think he's had enough. She checked the still moistened towel that the nurse had in her hands. "It'll do." She then resumed her task of closing her incision, making sure that her stitches wouldn't tear open easily. For five minutes, her hands carefully weaved the small metal needle back and forth until the incision was sealed...sweat began to dot her forehead and one of her assistants wiped it off with a cool wet towel. She nodded thanks in return and continued to focus in front of her. Her pale hand went over to her tray and found the scissors. She grabbed it and with one snipe, it was over. She then carefully dressed the area with a bandage and on her mark... everyone helped her move Heero on his back. "Thanks for your help everyone." She smiled wearily and she gathered two people to lift Heero to one of the guest rooms on the second floor. She then went back downstairs and found the nurses had already begun the daunting task of cleaning the dining room. 

Within minutes, the dining room looked spotless. No one would have guessed that two surgeries took place just hours before. With everything back in its place, Sally and her nurses quickly packed their things for the night, but they remained in the large house. The nurses took refuge in the kitchen and sat there sipping their cups of warm tea. Sally on the other hand went over to the living room, where she saw Relena still lying on the couch with Trudy beside her.

She checked on her vitals, "She's a fighter." 

"Indeed she is."

"We should move her up to her own room, so she can get some privacy."

Trudy nodded at the response. In a matter of minutes, Relena was in her own bed. Color was slowly returning to her milky skin. For the night, Trudy remained close to the young woman's side, keeping the lantern on low just in case she awoke from her deep slumber in the early morning hours. 

"I'll check on her regularly."

"Thank you again, Dr. Po."

"Please call me Sally...there's no need for formalities and you're welcome." With that, she closed the door to Relena's room and headed to the guest room, where Heero was lodged in. When she opened the door, she found Duo sitting in an armchair. "I guess you found your way."

"Sure did. Will he make it?"

"He will. He was lucky...I have to admit that. The bullet nearly missed his right kidney." She went over to Heero's side and examined the bandage...the white surface was still clean. "It'll be alright, Duo." She patted him on his shoulders and walked out of the room. Before she closed the door she whispered, "You should get some sleep. Heero won't wake up until morning. The chloroform is still going through his body."

"Thanks for your help, doc."

"You're welcome. Good night now...or should I say an early good morning." A small laugh escaped from him. 

With two patients asleep, Sally made her way back down the well-lighted staircase. Her crisp apron was stained in red and her hair was in a mess, but she didn't mind. For the early dark morning, she felt relieved that she had done her duty in saving two young lives. She continued down the stairs until she was at the front door, where she knew there would be a couple of bystanders left. She turned the brass knob to the left and before she knew, grief-stricken eyes met hers. "Heero and Relena are asleep right now. Their operations were a success."

Sighs of relief were heard especially from Hilde, who decided to stay out on the front porch. The group slowly disbanded into the early morning, returning to their own homes and some of them would talk about this night for the upcoming week.

* * *

"Milliardo...I think it's time." Noin held a hand over her round belly, as she felt water seeping through her nightgown. 

The others in the home heard her screams and came running in. "Milliardo get the doctor now," requested Noin's mother. 

In an instant, he bolted out of the room and in minutes, he ran into the next street over. The cobblestone pavement was damp from the chilly late night. He saw the light of the doctor's office still faintly glowing. "Dr. Murphy, I need your help." He pounded with his fists on the white-framed door. He looked over to a window and saw a man emerged from one of the rooms. Right then, the door opened and a middle-aged man appeared to greet Milliardo. 

"What brings you here in this hour?" His eyes were semi-alert. 

"It's time, my wife is in labor." 

"Calm down...let me get my things." 

In two minutes, the two traversed the cobblestone streets and entered the Noin residence. They both heard commands from the matriarch of the family, "Michael, I need a warm basin of water...Lily go the closet in the hallway and grab a couple of towels. I think this baby is going to come out now, whether we like it or not." 

They quickly went up to the second floor and found Noin already pushing with her mother directing her on what to do. Milliardo went to his wife's side and gently pushed aside her strands of hair from her face. "I'm here now." He kissed her on her forehead and took a small towel in his hands. He gingerly wiped away the sweat drops that beaded her forehead. "You're doing great."

Dr. Murphy and her mother continued to urge her to push. "All right Lucrezia, one more push. I see the head." His hands were ready to catch the newborn.

She was breathing in deeply now and she took one deep breath in. Milliardo then supported her back and gave her his right hand. She took it and with that, she pushed with the last bit of her strength. A loud cry was heard as she collapsed onto the bed. She looked up at Milliardo's blue eyes, "We did it." She smiled and looked over to where her mother and the doctor were examining their baby. "What is it?"

His blue eyes darted to the small table and the doctor mouthed the answer to him, "It's a boy." He kissed her again on the forehead and before long, the doctor brought over the healthy baby to her arms. 

"Congratulations." Dr. Murphy gathered his things and left the young family to themselves. 

"Thank you Dr. Murphy." The two said.

"It was my pleasure." He went back down the stairs, escorted by Noin's mother and family members. The group said their thanks and watched Dr. Murphy walk off in the early morning. The first light of dawn was just hinting over the horizon.

"I think we should let the new family have a little peace and quiet." 

"I agree mother," replied Lily. The sixteen year old had enough excitement for the day and returned to her room. She had inherited her father's looks that consisted of dark brown hair and brown eyes. 

"I agree too, mother." Michael walked off to the study and read through his law books. He couldn't even sleep now due to all of the excitement, but pondered what would his own family be like. As for Michael, he had inherited a combination of looks from his parents...his father's hair color and his mother's eyes.

Back upstairs in her childhood room, Noin cradled their baby boy in her arms. His tiny hands clasped over a strand of her curled shoulder length hair. "He has your eyes." She continued to cradle him. "Relena will be happy that she's an auntie." 

"I'll make sure that she receives the news." He went over to the black telephone and dialed in the numbers by rotating the circular dialing pad. He dialed the main number to Winfield's telephone receiver and on the other end someone had picked up.

"Winfield's main telephone directory. How can I be of service today?" An unfamiliar woman's voice resonated into the earphone.

"I would like a message be sent to Relena Peacecraft." His voice was filled with joy. He remained on the line, but heard tears in the background. He looked over to Noin, who was starting to worry.

"Did you hear the news about her accident?" She continued to sniff sporadically throughout their conversation.

"No, I'm calling from Boston. I'm a friend of hers," concealing his true identity.

"She was found in the lake behind the Peacecraft mansion with a gunshot wound. Rumors have been spreading that it was an altercation between her former boyfriend that goes by the name of William Bennett. Another young gentleman was involved...Heero Yuy."

He immediately closed off the connection to the line. The words coming from the woman on the other end seemed unreal. He had to grab the table to support himself from falling. He just couldn't believe it...not just yet.

"What's wrong?" Noin alarmed more than ever.

"Relena...she was found in the lake by my parents' home."

Noin tried to get up from her bed along with their baby, but Milliardo stopped her before she had a chance to comfort him. "I'm so sorry." She hugged him tighter along with their newborn son. "We need to get back there now."

"No...not in your state...not just yet. I'll go there myself. You need to rest." He kissed her on top of her forehead. 

"But Zechs..." She looked up to his intense blue eyes with a look of determination.

* * *

Light streamed through the lace curtains as Duo shifted uncomfortably in his armchair. The past eight hours were anything but peaceful. He looked towards Heero and found him laying on his back still. He closed his eyes for a minute, but before long, his ears picked up something. 

"Duo?" 

He then shot up from his resting position and was happier than ever to see his friend alive, "You're awake. I'll get Dr. Po up here. Don't you dare move a muscle...otherwise I'll have to get a bottle of chloroform myself." He quickly exited the room and nearly tripped while coming down the stairs. "Dr. Po...Heero's awake." His voice boomed throughout the entire home and he ended up waking Sally and her assistants from their deep slumber.

"That's great," she followed the short-braided hair man up the stairs and entered the room. 

The two just entered at the right time when Heero was trying to escape from the guest room. "You shouldn't be running about right now," she looked disapprovingly at him, "You might tear the wound apart and it'll have to be stitched again."

"I'm not worried about that." He tried to force himself up from the bed, but Duo blocked his escape.

"Listen to the doctor, Heero."

He gave his friend one of his infamous death glares and slowly complied to their wishes. He watched Duo leave the room, giving him a little privacy with Sally.

"Your wound isn't infected, which is a good sign." She then went over to a small nightstand and came back with new dressings in her hands. "That wasn't that bad...was it?" 

"Hn."

"Your lucky, Heero, that bullet nearly grazed your kidney." She poured some water out from a ceramic pitcher into a basin and washed her hands.

"How is she?" He stared into the ceiling, noting the pale blue room color.

"I'm not too sure," already knowing whom he was referring to. "I drained some water out of her lungs last night." She paused in her next statement, "She hasn't awakened yet."

He just blinked and remained quiet.

"What really happened out there last night...if you don't mind me asking? I was just given the information that the two of you were shot and that Relena was found in the lake, but there's evidence that there was struggle between Relena and her attacker." She went over to a small towel that lay beside the basin.

"William Bennett. I found him on top of her and attacked him."

Sally nodded her head in response and didn't need to get any further details from her patient. "I'll be back later to check on you."

"I want to see her." He tried to sit up, but a shockwave of pain went up and down his spinal cord. The pain didn't faze him and he continued to prop himself up on the back headboard.

"You're going to strain yourself," she tried to sedate him with chloroform before he did anymore damage to his back.

"No...I want to see her." He pushed the cloth away from his face, the smell made him a little lightheaded for a brief moment. 

She saw the determination within him and knew this was a fight that she couldn't win. She then ordered a wheelchair to be brought up to the second floor and before long, she wheeled him to the room.

Trudy, who remained faithfully by her side throughout the entire ordeal, met the two, "She's still sleeping." She left the two and went down into the hallway, pulling out a small handkerchief from her pocket. She whispered to herself, "Please let her be safe..."

Sally pulled the chair up to Relena's left-hand side of the bed and left Heero some private time with her. To him, she looked more beautiful than ever. Her long strands of honey blonde hair graced below her shoulders and that her face was giving off a natural glow. He gently took her hand in his, hoping that it would wake her from her deep sleep. "Don't leave me now...not just yet." He stayed by her bedside for the rest of the day, ignoring Sally's persistent orders that he should rest.

He watched the sunset dance in her room and realized that it was useless for him to remain any longer at her side, he wheeled himself out of the room and back into his own. "I need to get out of here..."

"What did you say, Heero?" Duo looked towards him suspiciously with his dinner tray. 

"Nothing," his face showed no emotions or feelings at all...though an ulterior motive was brooding within him. 

"I'm sure you said something...I'm not deaf." He placed the tray down on the small dresser. "I could have sworn you said you needed to leave."

"I need to find that William," his fists clenched against the arms of his wheelchair.

"Not in your current state, you need to rest." He stared down his friend hoping to divert his attention to Sally's orders. "I'm not leaving this room until you have something to eat. Otherwise I'm bringing in Sally and have her use chloroform on you."

"That won't be necessary."

* * *

Back in Relena's room, Trudy was asleep in the armchair with her arms splayed out towards Relena. The old woman remained still as Relena's body began to jerk, "Please stop...NO...DON'T!!!" Her blue eyes opened immediately and Trudy was then awakened from Relena's fit. 

"Relena...dear...it's all right, I'm here." She tried calming the girl down, but she noticed that she was breathing too rapidly.

"Sally!!!" Her scream pierced the silence in the hallways.

* * *

TBC 

Well stay tuned for chapter 12!!! Thanks for reading or reviewing. 


	12. Ripple Effect

As promised, here's chapter twelve! Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Special thanks goes out to yami, Ladybug, and blue ice 2 for your words of encouragement and I'm glad that you all like my story.   
  
hikaru-wings: As for the doctor stuff, one of my favorite shows is Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. And since my story is set in the past, I had to find some creative techniques in the medical field. :-)  
  
sweetangel4: Thank you for noticing my mistakes in chapter 11, hopefully my revisions worked out. I totally agree with you about the creative aspect about stories being set in the past. I guess that's a reason why I never do actual fic writing on the current timeline of GW...oi... ;-)

* * *

Ripple Effect

* * *

Sally ran into the room and tried calming the nineteen year old down, "She's trying to regain consciousness right now...whatever you do, don't restrain her. Otherwise, she could injure herself."   
  
Trudy interjected, "Can't you give her something to calm her down?"  
  
"I'm afraid I can't...the chloroform is still within her body and if I give her something else...there could be deadly consequences." She looked towards her patient, "It looks like her fit is over. All we can do right now is wait. Do her parents know about this yet?"   
  
"I'm afraid not, they headed back to Newberry just days ago. I've been so wrapped up in this that I forgot to inform them." The woman started to sob again.  
  
Sally went over to comfort the woman, "It's all right, I'll send them the message myself. All I want you to do now is get some rest and stay by her side for now. She'll need all the support that she can get once she wakes up."  
  
"Thank you," she whispered and she resumed her position by Relena's bedside.  
  
She then left the room, while a couple of her nurses were on standby just in case there was an emergency, "It was just a false alarm...nothing to panic about, you can go back down to the kitchen." She walked down the hallway and before long, she stood in front of Heero's room. She slid the door slightly and noticed that the lights were still on, "Why are you still up?"  
  
"I heard the maid's scream." He took a deep breath in and ignored the pain he was feeling, "How is she [really] doing?"  
  
There was no use in trying to evade Heero's question, "I can't fool you even in one little thing can I? To begin with, she's still very weak from her blood loss and it's too early to tell if she'll make a full recovery, but I believe she'll regain consciousness soon, the earlier the better. You'll have to excuse me now, I have to make an important phone call to her parents." Before she left, she asked him one little question, "Is there any family members that I can call for you?"   
  
He looked towards her with his Prussian eyes, while his face showed no emotion at all, "No, not really...to them...I'm already dead."   
  
"All right then, if you need anything let me know. I'm sure your friend, Duo, will be here again." She closed the door to his room and headed down the stairs, but a feeling of sadness for Heero kept nagging in her mind.

* * *

"Relena, where are you?" Katrina searched through her misty surroundings. "Relena?!?" She continued to walk, tripping over a few branches and twigs that were scattered about. She frantically called out her daughter's name, but she didn't get a response. Instead, her voice mocked back at her. The sounds of small waves crashing against a shoreline slowly increased in volume and right then, the location dawned on her. She carefully walked over to the shoreline and found a small body lying at the water's clear surface. "NO!"   
  
Katrina awoke from her nightmare and jolted straight up from her resting position. Her forehead was dotted with sweat drops and her breathing was irregular. She looked towards the other side of the bed and noticed her husband wasn't there yet. She quickly pulled a shawl over her shoulders and left the bedroom. The hallways were dark, but a faint orange-yellow glow came from a room she knew too well. She quietly walked down the hallway, trying not to disturb Pagan from his sleep. She passed the faithful servant's room and saw the door leading to her husband's study was ajar. "Why are you still working?"  
  
He looked up from his small stack with his glasses on the end of his nose, "I'm just finalizing a couple of new ordinances for the town, before we leave again for Winfield."   
  
He resumed his task, but noticed his wife was on pins and needles. "Is something troubling you?"  
  
She nodded and pulled her shawl closer to her shoulders. "I had the same nightmare again. This time I found Relena by the lake...she was lifeless." With the last three words, she started to tremble uncontrollably, "I can't help it that I had something to do with this eerie feeling."   
  
He got up from his seat and hugged his wife to reassure her that it was just a nightmare. "Everything will be all right...it's just a nightmare." He kissed her on top of her honey blonde hair.  
  
"This time I'm not so sure." She held tighter to him and took the scent of his clothes in. "I think I should have been more open to her." She looked into his blue eyes, "There's something wrong I can feel it...we need to go back now."   
  
The sound of his wife's voice added a chilling feeling down his spine. He knew that his wife wasn't easily disturbed by nightmares, but with this nightmare involving Relena, there was a foreboding feeling that something wasn't right at all. Right then, the black phone rang off in his study and scared the two of them out of their wits.  
  
The silver-haired patriarch slowly walked up to the device and each ring sent chills up his spine. His hand quivered over the receiver, but in one swoop, he placed the receiver to his ears and listened to the incoming message.  
  
"Is this the Peacecraft residence?" a woman's voice sounded off.  
  
"Yes, this is. Peacecraft speaking." A curious look went out to his wife, who stood pale as ghost in her nightgown.  
  
She tried to deliver the news as gently as she could, "My name is Dr. Sally Po. I don't know how to bring this to you...but...your daughter has been seriously wounded just a day ago. She's lost a tremendous amount of blood and we're waiting for her to fully regain consciousness. She wringed the black cord in her hands, "I'm sorry to give you the news in this early hour. Um...Trudy is with her right now," she hoped that her sentence would bring some comfort to the father. "Again, I'm truly sorry."   
  
"Thank you, Dr. Po." His voice was shaken and he closed off the connection. As he faced his wife, tears started to pool in the corner of his eyes and he then whispered the news in her ears. "I'm sorry darling...you were right...we need to get back to Winfield now."   
  
"NO!!!" The woman's cries seemed to shake the foundations of the house as Pagan came running into the room. She then collapsed into her husband's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.  
  
"Pagan, I need the carriage to be loaded with our luggage at this instant. Relena needs our help." He continued to console his wife, "I think you should come along with us too."  
  
The butler acknowledged and hastened his task...for time wasn't on their side at the moment. Within fifteen minutes, everything was packed including his own belongings. Outside, the horses were heard as they were being hooked to the carriage. The old man carried the luggage down the stairs with the help of the carriage driver. Before long, the Peacecrafts emerged from their home in the faint early daylight, but the skies showed a threat of rain.   
  
"We should be there by nightfall...I have a couple of documents that need to be handed over in town before we're on our way." He continued to console his wife by placing his hands over hers. "She'll make it through, Katrina."   
  
"I hope so," she whispered softly. She dabbed her already red swollen eyes with her cotton handkerchief. "I don't want to lose another [child.] I've already lost Milliardo from my previous mistakes."

* * *

William didn't dare to step back into Western Springs, since the news of Relena and Heero had spread like wildfire. He had decided to travel in the thick woods with his horse. The pair rested by a small streambed for the majority of the day in case anyone wanted to avenge for Relena's and Heero's attack. The incident was still fresh in his mind along with the bloodied pistol that was concealed in his saddlebag. Once the sun filtered behind the horizon line, the two resumed their journey to the next town, which William had no clue of.  
  
The two continued down a well worn path and they came across a circus train. He eyed the group suspiciously to see if they had any watchmen on duty, but he saw most of the members were gathered around a small well-lit campfire. He dismounted from his horse and allowed it to roam freely on its own. Without anyone looking, he snuck aboard in one of the trailer like a wagon that was tuck behind a grove of trees. Outside voices from the campfire drifted over his way and he heard someone approaching the wagon.  
  
"I'll see you in the morning, Manager." A female voice trailed off into the dark night.   
  
In an instant, William bolted behind a small curtain area as he saw someone entering the cramped space. Her eyes and short brown hair whipped about her. She placed a star-shaped earring down on her dressing table and began brushing her hair. The soft glow of the candle lighted her pale skin.   
  
He looked for a way to escape, but then he knocked over a small wooden box. Catherine immediately blew out her candle and stared into the darkness of her trailer, her eyes frantically searching for the mysterious visitor. "Who's there?" she shouted out loud into the dark abyss. Luckily for her, she still carried her performance knives with her. She waited quietly like a cat before walking slowly to the door. She saw the back curtain shuffle slightly and threw her knife in the direction. The metal pierced the curtain like butter and she heard a man's moan coming from behind the curtain and knew it wasn't Trowa's. Being alarmed, she headed towards the door, but then she felt a cold hand grasp around her neck.  
  
"I don't think you're going anywhere right now."   
  
She fought the man off of her and took one look at him. The light that entered from the window revealed his features. "It's you...you're wanted in Winfield."  
  
"News sure does travel fast in this part of the country." His right arm continued to bleed, but that didn't deter him in silencing his identifier.  
  
"Oh no you don't," she ran to her small secret cache of knives by the door and threw one in hopes of warding off the surprised Bennett.   
  
He picked up one of the knives and silver flashed in the dimly lightly room. He had her cornered in her trailer and with that she screamed in horror.  
  
Outside, the circus members heard the cry. "It's Catherine." Trowa looked up from the glowing embers and immediately ran to her trailer. He pressed his ear against the wooden door and heard some commotion coming within. In seconds, he kicked the door open and found her lying on the ground, covering a wound to her right shoulder, while her assailant was ready to strike again.  
  
"Trowa," she whispered.  
  
"Cathy!" He lunged at the man and pulled him out of the trailer. His eyes noticed that her attacker still had one of her knives in his hands.   
  
"Be careful, Trowa." She stood in the doorway with her left hand clutching her right shoulder...the blood just pooling within her hands. She struggled to maintain her balance, but then collapsed at the doorway of her trailer.   
  
He immediately recognized the man that he was struggling against, "You're the one wanted in Winfield."   
  
"You guessed right," he scoffed. The knife was in position to stab. With that, he lashed out at Trowa, but missed. His aim was unsteady.   
  
Before long, Trowa grabbed the knife and tossed it on the ground somewhere. "This is for Cathy." He punched William in the stomach and the man keeled over to the ground. Around him, a group of his circus friends watched the entire scene, he called out to the group, "Make sure you bound him tightly. I don't want him escaping." At that moment, he returned to Cathy's trailer with a worried look, "Cathy, stay with me," he shouted and patted her face in hopes of keeping her awake.  
  
"Trowa." Her eyes fluttered for a brief second. "I'm all right, just fainted that's all."   
  
"Let me look at that wound." He gently lifted her to a sitting position against the doorframe.  
  
"Don't worry, Trowa, it's not that deep...seriously." She pulled her right arm away from him. A shock wave of pain ran through her nerves, but deep down she was more worried about him.  
  
"You don't have to put a strong front up, Cathy." He pulled her into his arms and hugged her.  
  
Surprised by his support, she began to sob quietly on his arms, "You're my brother, Trowa, and I don't want to lose you."  
  
"I know...I know..." He gently rocked her and applied pressure to her wound. In front of the trailer, he could hear William struggling against a group of circus workers.

* * *

It was already nightfall and Milliardo looked over to his sleeping wife. The baby laid in its cradle, peering up towards the white ceiling. He cautiously walked over to the cradle and picked up his infant son. His tiny blue eyes peering into his own father's. "Now you be good now and don't give your mother such a hard time." He gently kissed him on the forehead and rocked him to sleep. In minutes, the aquamarine eyes were hidden underneath the small eyelids and Milliardo laid him back into the cradle.  
  
He felt a familiar stare watch his every move. "I'll send for you when the time is right."  
  
"All right then...be careful." She kissed him, "It looks like you should have kept a closer eye on William than on Heero."  
  
He smiled at his wife and kissed her one more time. "Look for my message in three days...hopefully I'll be in Winfield by then." He took one last look at his infant son and shut the door behind the two.  
  
He saw his mother-in-law emerge from the foyer, her maternal instincts were still accurate enough to pick up the first sign of trouble emitting from Milliardo's face. "What's wrong?"   
  
"It's my sister back home...there was an incident with her ex-caller. I need to ride back immediately. Lu and the baby are doing fine. I'm sorry to leave abruptly, but I promised I'll send word in three days to her."  
  
"All right then...I wish you didn't have to leave so soon after the birth." She went to a small closet by the door and pulled out an overcoat for Milliardo. "You might need this, the weather looks like it could turn any second." She also grabbed a small sack from a nearby table, "Here's some food too...it's not much, but it'll suffice. I know you have to pack light."  
  
He nodded in return and kissed his mother-in-law on her forehead.   
  
She called out to him, "Ride carefully now." In minutes, he was out of her sight.   
  
He rode all night long, only taking periodic stops to let his horse rest for a while. "I knew I should have stayed longer in Winfield." He kicked the dirt in front of him with frustration that he couldn't do anything. "When I find that b-stard, I'll make sure he'll pay for what he has done." He gritted his teeth as he prepared for another ride that would take him closer to Winfield.

* * *

A pair of hazel eyes awoke to the sounds of wagons being loaded, along with commands of some workers trying to collect the last of the circus troupe's belongings. He tried to move, but noticed that his feet and hands were bounded by a piece of thick rope.  
  
"I wouldn't move if I were you." Trowa flashed a knife in front of him, readying himself to throw it at William if he dared to move. "You have a lot of explaining to do once the sheriff arrives."   
  
"Are you going to just stand there with that knife of yours?" A small smile graced his lips, "Or will you be a kind caretaker and hand me a cup of water?"  
  
"You're not worth it...but seeing that we need you alive...I guess I'm obligated to do so." He walked off to a small wooden barrel and grabbed a brass cup from one of the tables. He carefully watched William from the corner of his eye, as he dipped the ladle into the cool liquid.   
  
"Fool," he murmured under his breath. He saw a small stick jutting out from the ground and slightly shifted to the object. "Just perfect." He looked about him, making sure no one was really watching him and began to rub the rope against the stick. The knot around his hands began to loosen and he was half way through when something silver flashed towards his left side. He was taken aback from the sight.  
  
"I don't think it's time for your escape yet." He bent down and took the stick away from William. "Here's your water that you requested." He placed the brass cup on the grassy ground and left William to fend for himself, "Next time I won't miss...you can count on that."   
  
With that, Trowa walked away from the miserable man that sat on the ground. He looked over to where Cathy was nursing her right shoulder. "How are you doing today?"  
  
"A little better...I won't be able to perform for at least four weeks." She turned her face away from her brother, trying to conceal a small trickle of tears. She didn't want him to know that she might not ever regain full use of her right arm, since the knife wound was deep.  
  
He heard the sadness in her voice, "The doctor already told me about your situation...you'll get better...you're strong, Cathy." He then changed the subject in hopes of lighting her spirits up a little, "I just threw a knife at the man and I have you to thank," and he smiled towards her.  
  
"I guess you do." A small smile appeared for a brief moment.  
  
"We better start packing before the Manager gets worked up again." He led her by her left arm and the two crossed a small patch of a meadow before arriving at the circus tent to gather their belongings from their act.   
  
But before that, out in the distance, they both heard the sounds of galloping hooves coming towards their direction and the sheriff emerged from the open road. The two were in earshot of the conversation between him and the Manager. "The fugitive is over by the water barrel. We made sure that he didn't escape during the night."  
  
"Thank you, I'll take it from here," his southern accent was noticeable, "I'll make sure that he'll reach Winfield in one piece...rumor has spread throughout the nearby towns about [him.] I've heard in Winfield, they placed a price for his head by some of the neighbors close to the Peacecrafts." The sheriff looked over to the restless man of the hour and untied the rope that bounded his legs still. "Time to go, Bennett."   
  
"Fair enough for me." He maliciously eyed the naïve sheriff, who placed him in the make shift jail wagon. He watched the sheriff walked to the front of the wooden wagon. Before long, he felt the wagon move. "What an idiot," he whispered under his breath. He began to work on the rope that bounded his hands together on a sharp jagged board, "Stupid fool...he didn't realize that these ropes were becoming undone." In minutes, he felt the ropes give away, "Time to make the great escape." He eyed the latch to the door of his tiny cell and with a couple of attempts, he managed to finally open it. He walked back to the opposite end of the wagon and braced himself for his jump. In seconds, the feeling of rough dirt was on his barren hands and face, as he tumbled continuously for a couple of minutes before coming to a stop in a small brush beside the dirt road. To the sheriff, he heard a thud, but figured that the wheels ran over a pothole and shrugged off the sound. He continued to drive towards Winfield without ever realizing that his suspect escaped.   
  
William slowly rose to his feet and dusted his pants off, "Fool!!! You haven't seen the last of me yet...mark my words." An evil grin graced his face and he then headed in the opposite direction of Winfield.

* * *

Katrina gazed upon her sleeping daughter and brushed several loose honey strands away from her own face. The ride to Winfield was uneventful, but each bump along the journey sent butterflies swirling in her stomach. She didn't know what to expect...whether Relena was bleeding to death or wrapped in numerous bandages. But the sight before her, diminished the majority of her fears...she was glad that her only daughter was still alive.   
  
She looked over to the lace curtains and saw a hint of sunshine breaking through the light fabric. Figuring that the air might due some good for the two of them, she went over to open the window. The past day or so was just a blur to her...everything coming at her in one brief instant...the phone call...the revelations from the incident...the conditions of her daughter and Heero. She couldn't believe it that she had overlooked him in the first place...seeing that he "didn't" fit the match for Relena to begin with. Instead, she looked towards William. The memories from their first meeting seemed so real and it was unthinkable he could have harmed her daughter. A sickening feeling formed in her conscience and she was beginning to blame herself for letting a monster in her daughter's life. "I've brought this on Relena and now I'm paying for it," she thought to herself. "How can she ever forgive me?" She looked out towards the glass, trying to find some absolution to her true problem.  
  
A soft moan came from Relena, as she tried getting up from her bed.   
  
Katrina immediately ran to her daughter's side, "Relena dear, you shouldn't get up too fast, you might get a dizzy spell."  
  
The young girl pushed the hand away, "I'm fine." She blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust to the well lighted room. "What day is it?"  
  
"It's Monday." She looked worriedly at her daughter. "Do you remember what happened to you?"  
  
She looked directly into the older woman's eyes, "What are you talking about? I was here all week." She raised both of her hands and rubbed her forehead. The confusion was taking its toll on her mind. "Who are you? You don't look familiar at all."  
  
Katrina was speechless that her daughter didn't remember her at all. "I'm your mother," the word escaped painfully from her lips.   
  
Again, she looked blankly at the woman. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you at all." She tried getting up from the bed, but Katrina would have none of that.  
  
"I'm going to leave for just a moment, I'm going to get Dr. Po here." With that, she quickly left the room and found Sally sitting in the hallway with a cup of tea. "Dr.Po, I think we have a problem."  
  
"What is it?" Sally immediately shot straight up.  
  
"She doesn't remember me at all and she doesn't even remember what happened to her by the lake. What's wrong with her?"   
  
Sally's fears were finally awakened to this new discovery, "I'm afraid she has amnesia."  
  
Katrina just stared in disbelief, "Memory loss..."  
  
"The day of her attack, she was submerged in water and there was a concussion. I'm sorry, Mrs. Peacecraft."  
  
"Will this be temporary?"  
  
"I'm unsure. Sometimes patients do recover their memories, but it just depends on the severity of the trauma. I'll check on her now." She gingerly walked to the door and knocked on it, "May I come in Relena? It's Dr. Po." She heard a faint acknowledgement coming from the other side. "I see you're finally awake today, you gave us quite a scare over the past two days." She pulled out her stethoscope and listened to her respirations and heartbeat. "It seems like everything is working perfectly."   
  
Right then, Pagan was at the bedroom door carrying a breakfast tray. It was the first time he saw Relena for weeks. "Good morning, Miss Relena...I've made you some breakfast."  
  
Sally then asked her patient a question, "Relena, do you know who this person is?"  
  
She looked at the man for a couple of minutes, but the name seemed to elude her. "I'm sorry, I don't know. What's wrong with me?"  
  
"I'm afraid you might have temporary amnesia."   
  
"What? It can't be." Her eyes widened in shock.  
  
"I know it may seem overwhelming now, but everything will be revealed shortly to you. For now, I just want you to rest." She smiled and walked away, allowing Pagan to have some time with Relena.  
  
"Well let me introduce myself, I'm Pagan, your butler." The old man placed the small tray on a nearby nightstand and handed her a small bowl of oatmeal. Realizing Relena's situation, he didn't dare reveal too much about their past. "I believe Trudy should be here shortly, she's another servant that serves you, but stays here in Winfield."   
  
"I see. It's nice to finally put a name to a face around here," she smiled and started eating the oatmeal, as Pagan watched her.

* * *

Katrina watched from the hallway as Pagan began to bond with Relena. "I just wish there was something I could do." She knew that her husband wasn't around at this time, since he went into town to see if there were any telegrams from Newberry and to grab the morning news. She paced the hallway back and forth, trying to calm her nerves down, but then she felt a pair of eyes focus in on her. It was Heero.  
  
She tried to avoid his stare, but she couldn't any longer. She walked into his room...unaware of how she should start the conversation, but then she cleared her throat, "How are you doing today?"  
  
"Better." He was trying to be polite as he could.  
  
The silence in the room was driving her crazy, "I know we didn't get off on the right start, but I'm sorry for being judgmental on you."   
  
"Apology accepted." He looked away from her and focused on a small painting on the bedroom wall, "How is she doing today?"  
  
She was happy that he changed the subject, "She finally awoke this morning, but there's something else...she has amnesia. Sally doesn't know if it'll be temporary or not." She looked towards Heero and noticed he just turned quiet in one second. Gauging by his response, he was shocked as well. "I was wondering if you could do a favor for me?"  
  
"What is it?"  
  
She paused for a brief second, wondering if she was making the right decision, "I know this might be a long shot in triggering her memory, but could you visit her one of these days? If you don't want to, I understand." She headed for the door, "I just want my daughter to recover from this."  
  
"When is the best time?" Heero looked towards her way.  
  
"I'll ask for Sally's opinion and Heero, thank you."

* * *

TBC   
  
Well, how was that for chapter twelve? I have to head back to summer school soon, so updates will be irregular again. Let me know if you want me to e-mail you about future updates. Other than that, thanks for reading chapter twelve and please review. :-) Thank you. Until next time...take care everyone!


	13. Memories

Sorry for the long delay, the past two months have been crazy, but here's the newest chapter! I would like to say a personal thanks to Sakura123, vixencat, GP-HY-PSLRV, Wing, and sweetangel4 for their reviews. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

* * *

Memories

* * *

Time seemed to pass slowly in the Peacecraft household with everyone trying their best in helping Relena gain her memory back. Sally had warned against them in telling her the actual truth to what happened on that fateful night. She didn't want the girl to go into a relapse in her recovery, but she knew that the incident couldn't be avoided entirely. A couple of days ago, she checked up on her young patient and heard her make a quick reference to a body of water with someone stalking her. All she could do was listen to her and make a mental note that there was some progress. For now, some of the closet neighbors dropped in from time to time in reacquainting with her, which gave Relena a headache sometimes especially if they gossiped about themselves for the whole hour that they stayed.   
  
For some odd feeling within her...she knew that today was going to be different. She just felt a tingling feeling run through her veins. The atmosphere around the house was more lively rather than of questions and doubt. Trudy was even in a livelier mood along with Pagan. The two walked into her room and saw her drawing her hands over silver picture frames. She was staring into a pair of eyes that looked like hers. "Who's this?" She continued to stare at the picture of a young boy with long hair.  
  
Pagan cleared his throat, "He's your brother, Milliardo."  
  
"Where is he now? I haven't seen him in this house yet."  
  
"How should I put this," he didn't want to create any mystery about her brother, and yet he felt it was part of his duty to inform her, seeing that he wanted her to trust him again, "...your mother drove him away four years ago."  
  
"That doesn't sound like my mother at all. Why would she do that?"  
  
"He wanted to marry another woman that was of lower status and your mother quickly disapproved. He eventually decided to leave and marry her anyway."   
  
"I see..." She placed the photograph back on the small table by the window and looked outside. Everything for the past two weeks melded in an endless blur in her memory, a tear slowly trickled down her cheek.   
  
"Relena are you all right, dear?" Trudy showed a look a concern on her face.  
  
"I'm fine...I'm just frustrated that I can't remember anything. I know everyone has been trying their hardest to make me comfortable and giving me help here and there...I just wish I can remember!" She cried out loud and fell to the floor. "I'm tired of being helpless...I want my life back." She looked down to her bruised arms from some event unknown to her and began to sob uncontrollably.   
  
Trudy ran over to the girl's side and hugged her, trying to control her sobs down. "I know...I know. You're making a great effort and I know you can get through this." She brushed a few strands of her honey blonde her away from her tear stricken face. "Shhhhh...now...everything will come together somehow." She continued to hug the young girl. "You should go out for a walk maybe later at dusk. Your mother recommended it before she left for some errands today."  
  
"Why would she say something like that?" She looked up to the woman's eyes.  
  
"She's trying her best in helping you recover."  
  
"There are still a lot of things I don't understand."  
  
"Indeed, but time will slowly reveal the past to you and what you need to know." She wiped a stray tear from her face with her apron.  
  
"She's right, Relena. We both have faith in you and Godspeed in your recovery." Pagan kneeled beside the two and took her hand in his.   
  
"Thank you, the both of you." She hugged them dearly and before long, she was up again, clearing her face and her light cotton summer dress.   
  
"Well we better get back to our chores before your mother has a fit," Trudy smiled to Relena.   
  
"If you need anything, you know where to find us," Pagan shuffled past her and escorted Trudy down the stairs. When the two were out of earshot from Relena, he asked her something, "Do you think it'll work?"  
  
"It has to, I can't stand her being miserable like this. I can't believe William escaped from the wagon and that sheriff didn't even noticed that he was gone." Her hands angrily twisted her apron, "If I hand my own weapon, I would hunt him down personally and make him pay for what he has done. It's not fair that she has to suffer like this..."  
  
"I believe everyone has that feeling right now." The two reached the base of the staircase and heard a light tap on the front door. "I wonder who could that be? No one is expecting any visitors at this hour, not that I'm aware of." He pulled out his pocket watch and noticed it was only two in the afternoon. He quickly walked to the door and opened it slightly, being careful in case it was some robber, "Oh my..."  
  
"Hello Pagan, it's been a long time." A familiar pair of blue eyes held some comfort and hope.

* * *

Relena continued to search through her belongings. One of them caught her eye, it was leather bounded book, Wuthering Heights, she couldn't remember if she had finished it or not, but the name, Heathcliff sounded familiar once she dove into the first two chapters. She was halfway into the plot when she heard a slight rapture against her open window.   
  
"Hey Princess, are you in there?" A male voiced called out from below. He held another pebble in his hand, but then another hand blocked him.  
  
"Would stop that, I think she's by the window now. You don't want to hit her and cause another problem." She made sure that Duo dropped the pebble to the ground, "Hi Relena, it's me."  
  
"Hi there...Hilde."  
  
"That's right...see you're slowly getting it back together. You remember Duo, right?"  
  
She nodded in response, "What brings the two of you here?"  
  
"We just wanted to check on you," shouted out Duo. "Last time we saw you, it looked like your parents tried too hard in making you remember."  
  
"That's true...would the two of you like to come in?"   
  
He held Hilde closer, "Oh no, we were just on our way into town for some dinner."   
  
It dawned on her from their last meeting that Duo and Hilde were a couple now, "I see...we'll if you want to stop by later that's fine...I don't think I have anything planned for now."  
  
The two were also in on the plan of getting Relena's memory back, "I'm sure we'll be out for a while."  
  
"All right Hilde, but the two of you are always welcomed."  
  
"Oh before I forget, my mom baked some more chocolate chip cookies." She took out the small bag from her dress pockets.  
  
"Let me come down then, I'll just be right there."  
  
"It's fine...I'll just toss them to you." She was about to throw the bag to Relena.  
  
"You sure about that, Hilde?"  
  
"Last time I saw you throw something...it wasn't a pretty sight." He looked over towards his shoulders at something in the distance.   
  
"Just watch and see...mister know it all." She prepared her pitch and before long, the bag of cookies took flight and landed in Relena's hands. "See...I told you I could do it."  
  
She shouted out from her window as she saw the two leave, "Thank your mother for me, will you?"  
  
"I will," she called out to her friend. She then turned her attention toward Duo, "What was that all about...back there? Were you insinuating that just because I'm a girl, I can't pitch right?" As a spontaneous reaction, she quickly kicked up some dirt on his pants. "That's for doubting me!" She quickly ran away from him because she knew that he would chase after her.  
  
"Why you little devil!" He chased after her and eventually scooped her up in his strong arms. The two laughed their way down the field and went on their merry way to the town. "Do you think that was a good diversion?"  
  
"I think it was," she smiled into his violet eyes, "It all comes down to this one night."

* * *

Pagan led Milliardo into the drawing room, where Trudy had already poured out glasses of lemonade. "This is Trudy...she has been helping Relena get through this for the past two weeks."  
  
"Pleased to meet you and thank you for helping her."  
  
"The pleasure is all mine," she smiled. "Would you be staying for dinner?"  
  
The thought had never dawned on Milliardo, he didn't want to disrupt the atmosphere that was already surrounding him. "I'm not too sure if I'll be staying that long...my mother and I are on unfriendly terms still."  
  
"I see...well I'll just set an extra plate out tonight just in case. If you'll excuse me then," she pushed the door aside and headed towards the kitchen.  
  
"So where's Relena now?" He sipped from a glass of cool lemonade.  
  
"I believe she's upstairs resting or rummaging about. Your mother dropped off a couple of items in her room...ranging from old-worn photographs of the Peacecraft lineage along with childhood toys. She's doing fine for now, but tonight your mother planned a meeting for her."  
  
"Don't tell me she's up to her antics again," his jaws dropped slightly, but he regained his composure.  
  
"Well not entirely...she's arranged a meeting for Relena to see Heero and it should happen in another hour or so. Everyone has been in on it."   
  
"Really?"  
  
"That's right," he smiled and there seemed to be a spark in his eyes.  
  
Right then, the doors opened and Relena stood in the doorway with a confused look, "Um, I'm sorry I should have knocked." Her face slightly bushed in embarrassment, "I thought you were alone, Pagan." She didn't look towards Pagan's company.  
  
"Here have glass of lemonade." Milliardo stood by her side and held a short glass in his hands.   
  
"Thank you." She took the glass graciously and blinked a couple of times. Earlier in the day, she looked into those familiar eyes in a photograph. "Milliardo?"  
  
"Right," he smiled with tears forming at the rims of his eyes. "You don't know how much that means to me to hear your voice." He hugged her nearly making her drop the glass.  
  
Something in her mind began to connect the dots, "How's Lu doing along with the baby?"  
  
"How did you know that I had a baby?" He quickly looked towards Pagan to see if he had given her the answer beforehand and saw Pagan shake his head left to right.  
  
"I don't know...I guess it came to me," she smiled weakly. "I'm starting to remember things slightly, but the last two weeks have been a whirlwind."  
  
"I understand...well Lu and the baby are doing fine. In fact, they're both here now. We're staying in..."  
  
Relena then interjected, "In the old Cooper house not too far from here."  
  
Again Milliardo nodded a yes response, "It seems like your memory is coming back slowly, but surely."  
  
"I hope it does." She twisted a piece of fabric in her hands...a sign that she was still uncertain of who she was.  
  
"You'll get through this." He hugged her once more and reassured her that everything was going to be fine.  
  
Pagan looked at the brother and sister with tears in his eyes, "I hate to break this up, but maybe you should get some fresh air now, Miss Relena. Dinner will be served in a little while..."  
  
"I think I'll stay with Milliardo and to do some catching up."  
  
"Listen to what Pagan said...I think the fresh air will do you some good. I'll be here when you return."  
  
"Are you sure?"   
  
"I'm sure, now scram." He shooed her out of the room and into the early evening light.

* * *

Relena stood out by the front porch, undecided about which way she should head. Everything around her was unfamiliar to her, the scents and the sounds were just a mystery. She bit her lower lip and decided to head towards a small grove of trees that looked like a promising start to her. She heard her footsteps grind the dirt and grass beneath them, which amused her thoughts for a while. The scent of the pine trees soon drifted her way and there was something else...a smell of water. Her heart began to race and she quickly grabbed onto a tree stump to support her weight. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea," she whispered to herself. Right then, a shockwave of pain emitted from her abdomen. She breathed in heavily in hopes of relieving it and just stared at the site in front of her. She closed her eyes briefly and flashes of some night came to her mind...a man about her age was close to her. She shook her head in disbelief and came out of her vision...so she thought.   
  
"Are you all right, miss?"  
  
"Huh," she was caught off guard. "You...stay back...don't you dare come near me."  
  
"All right, I get the hint." He raised one of his arms in the air and shifted his stance slightly, accommodating the cane that he was holding. He noticed that she was still comforting her head. "Let's go down to the lake, shall we? I heard the view was better right by the water."  
  
"I think I'm going to stay back here." She leaned against on the tree trunk and faced the newcomer. "Who are you?"  
  
"Heero Yuy...your next-door neighbor. I'm currently residing with a Duo Maxwell that you may know off, Relena."  
  
A surprised look came from her face, "How did you know my name?"   
  
"Duo mentioned to it me once." He looked away from her and stared up towards the night sky.   
  
All of a sudden, Relena heard a clank sound coming from Heero and saw him briskly walking up to her. He immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the direction of the lake. "What are you doing?" She tried to pry away from him, "Are you insane!?! Let go of me at this very instant."   
  
Heero knew to keep his distance from her, "Just trust me...can you do that for just a few minutes?"  
  
"I'm not going to trust anyone...especially you." She felt his hold tighten on her wrist.   
  
The two continued down a well-worn path and remained silent for the rest of their short journey. Before long, they were out in a clear opening and the scent of water overcame their senses. "We're here now." He let her go and limped over to a fallen log by the lakefront. Their little stroll took a toll on his body, but he ignored it. He watched her stare in awe as if it was her first time of being up close to a body of water. For once, he didn't hear her complain for at least one minute.   
  
"The view it's so breathtaking," she sat by him. "I didn't think it would like this at all."  
  
"I told you to trust me." He stared out into the open water.  
  
She gazed up towards the night sky to see its wonders. "I've never seen so many stars like this before. It seems like the Heavens are canvases themselves." She looked for any patterns that she could trace with her eyes, "Where are you Pegasus?" she whispered under her breath.   
  
"What did you say?"   
  
"Nothing really," she looked down to the ground and traced the pattern on the dirt. "I'm just looking for Pegasus."  
  
The constellation brought him back to one of their late summer night's meetings on the mythical horse. "What about him?"  
  
"Oh nothing...the name just came to me though." She closed her eyes and breathed in the summer air. "You seem interested in him for some odd reason."   
  
"Me?" He felt like he was going to blow his cover soon, he couldn't keep this game up with her. He desperately looked for a diversion, and his wish came true. "I think it's time to head back now...it's probably close to your supper time anyhow."  
  
Her face blushed lightly, "I guess so." She covered her stomach with her hands in hopes of diminishing the grumbles.   
  
"Let's go then." He offered his hand and the two went back up on the path. With the time that passed, Relena had a constant nagging feeling in her mind that she had met him before, but where was the question. "We're here now."  
  
"Thank you for the escort." She curtsied to him and saw something at the corner of her eyes...it was his cane. "I think you might need this," she bent down and handed him the wooden stick.   
  
He nodded the kind gesture, but his eyes concealed sadness in them. He felt like he failed his part in making Relena gain her memories back. "I have to leave now, Duo might be back from his dinner with Hilde. Take care now."  
  
"Do you want to stay for dinner? I'm sure Trudy made some extra helpings."   
  
"No thanks." He started to walk off in the direction of Duo's home.  
  
"Will I see you again?"  
  
"Maybe."   
  
With a small reassurance from him, she slipped into the safety of her home for the night. She peeked out a small window with laced curtains, "I do hope we can meet again."   
  
Milliardo had crept up on her, "So how was your evening walk?"   
  
"How long have you been eavesdropping on me?"  
  
"I would say just long enough to get a gist that everything went well..."  
  
She blushed slightly, "A lady never kisses and tells..."  
  
"What?!" Right then, he knew he fell into her trap of one her small jokes "I see you're up to your old antics again." He looked over to the dining room and noticed that their evening meal was almost ready, "We might as well head over to the dining room now...it looks like Trudy is just adding the final touches now."  
  
The two entered the room and were about to sit when their parents walked in from the opposite side of the room from the kitchen. Milliardo just froze...he didn't know what to expect from his mother after his hiatus from the family. In hopes of breaking the icy silence, he spoke, "Hello, Mother."  
  
"And what do you think you're supposed to be here for?" Her agitated voice felt like knives. "I told you once before I didn't want to see you here in this house, since you married that [woman]."   
  
He ignored the comment from his mother and got on the defensive side, "I heard Relena was in an accident and I had to come...to make sure everything was all right."   
  
"Katrina, calm yourself down. You don't want to make a scene in front of everyone." The patriarch himself decided to calm this firestorm of words.   
  
Being the woman that she was, she lashed out, "Of course, not everything is all right," her voice stung like venom, "Your sister lost her memory all because of that Bennett boy! And for the past two weeks, we've been through thick and thin and this is what happens!" She threw a glass full of water onto the floor, her frustration finally spilled over.  
  
The last remarks sent Relena hurling through her mind, "What was that?" Her voice was shaky and all of a sudden, pieces of the puzzle to her mysterious accident were unraveling before her eyes.   
  
Katrina looked over to her daughter, "Oh no," she brought herself back from her argument and realized what she had done, "I'm sorry it had to come out this way. It shouldn't have come out like this."  
  
"When were you going to tell me everything?" She clenched the edge of the dining seat.   
  
"Dr. Po warned me not to reveal anything to soon. She was afraid that if I told you, you might have a relapse. But I swear, I was going to tell you one day," her voice pleaded for some sort of understanding.   
  
"The day should have been sooner," she bolted out of the room...the reality of her accident just collided with everything she had learned from the past two weeks. She wasn't hungry anymore...just the fact that someone had caused her this [problem] was enough to make her stomach churn. She didn't know whether to trust her mother...pieces of the argument just minutes ago gave her glimpses of her mother's true nature along with her broken memories that surfaced from time to time. She went up to her room and dropped herself on the bed. Tears pooled around her eyes and for once she had one answer to why there were bruises on her body along with the bandage from her gunshot wound. "It was all because of [him]," she whispered to herself.   
  
She started to add up the pieces slowly with Heero...the cane and his limp might be a sign of something. During their evening meeting, she couldn't help but look into his eyes at one point. The familiar dark hue was something she had seen in her recurrent dreams for the past weeks. She thought to herself, "Could he be the one...who saved me from Bennett?" And for the night, she set her mind on seeing Heero to finally get some of her real questions answered.

* * *

TBC  
  
How was that for chapter 13? Please review and thank you. :-)


	14. Rekindled Flames

Here's the newest update and on a side note, I'm using a new format again, where words in italic are read as thoughts. All right then, standard disclaimers apply here and enjoy!

* * *

Rekindled Flames

* * *

Relena crept down to the kitchen right before the dawn's first light and grabbed a small biscuit that was kept in the pantry. She couldn't stand to be in the same house with her mother...the house of lies and secrets. Last night's incident still rang through her mind and she was still fuming about it. But, a sound above her brought her attention back to her present situation and she could already hear Trudy walking about...before long she disappeared into the backwoods of her home, heading towards the Maxwell residence. On her way there, various scenarios played through her head of how she could approach Heero with her requests. She didn't want to be too abrupt and rash, but at the same time she didn't want to sound shy about the issue. Well seeing her father act as a politician to her hometown of Newberry, she drew her inspirations from him. With that encouraging thought, she continued on her way before a black stallion came galloping out of nowhere and took her by surprise.

_The nerve of that rider_...she quickly dusted off her lower dress line. When she finally looked up, the only thing that was left of the careless rider was a path of dust that wisped about on the trail. _Wait until I get my hands on whoever it is_... She looked towards the east and figured now that it was only a quarter past sunrise...she would have arrived at the Maxwells earlier if it weren't for that minor collision in the middle of nowhere. Right ahead of her, she could see the house and it's small stable. Before long, she was at the steps and was about to knock, but saw a note attached on the door. The cursive penmanship was light and flowed endlessly on the small parchment. "Out for a stroll."

With nowhere to go, she decided to walk around on the property, seeing that it was a nice mild summer day. The stable then caught her eye. She could already hear the horses neighing for something and she looked around outside, hoping to find some hay or sugar cubes. To her luck, she found Duo's stash of sugar cubes in a small lean-to next to the stable, "Perfect."

She pulled one of the heavy doors aside and heard two of the horses neigh in curiosity. She patted the mares down their soft necks and gave them their well-deserved sugary treats. The back stable door creaked open and she saw someone leading a black stallion inside and she thought it was the one that nearly ran her over earlier. She jumped out and tried to frighten the rider, "You know you nearly killed me this morning with your horse."

The rider didn't know what she was talking about, "Excuse me..."

"You heard me," she still didn't see the rider's face and started kicking up dirt in the back of his boots.

"I think you were mistaken." He turned around and faced his unruly neighbor, knowing that it was Relena.

"Heero..." she paused for a minute and turned bright red. "I'm so sorry..." Sweat drops began to dot her forehead.

"You see I can't ride yet, but I need to exercise my horse." He walked it back to its stall and took the reins.

"I'm so sorry..." she twisted a lock of her hair in her hands. She remained quiet for awhile and allowed Heero to dry his horse off after its morning jaunt out on the fields. She stayed by a light brown mare and as if the mare could sense something troubling the dear girl, she gently nudged Relena towards Heero's direction.

"That horse is fond of you it seems."

She smiled contently and cleared her throat, "Look...I just came here to ask you something...something that you might know, since everyone around here seems to be keeping something away from me."

He knew what she was going to ask and braced himself for those questions. "Let me guess it's about the night of your accident."

"Precisely...how did you-"

He cut her off, "I figured sooner or later...you needed to know." He closed the stall's door, "You still can't remember him?" he asked.

"Who's [him] that everyone keeps referring to?"

He stared to the ground, "His name was William Bennett and was a suitor of yours earlier this summer." He looked towards her to see if any reaction came about, but there was none and so he continued on with William's physical description to the best of his knowledge. But still, there was no reaction from her.

"I don't care about his description...I just want to know what happened on that [night]."

He was unsure how far he needed to give the pertinent information out, but he didn't want to cause anymore harm that has already been done.

"Just tell me, Heero. Something tells me you were there that night." She looked into his deep Prussian eyes.

_So she does remember something_. "I don't know what happened between you two prior that night, but something triggered it. I found him on top of you," he paused...not wanting to draw up the details, but continued, "clawing at your dress...it looked like you hit your head on something. I wrapped you up in my shirt and the next thing I knew it, he pulled out his gun. I heard you scream out and you started to attack him, but he shot you too." He noticed that her arms were drawing tighter around her chest and her skin had become clammy. "Are you all right?" He looked worried.

"I'm fine," her breathing was shallow, "just go on."

"I think I should just stop right now."

"I need to know the truth, I can't stop running from it."

He realized that she wouldn't leave until the whole story was finished, "He dumped your body in the lake, Relena. He left the both of us to die right there."

The last sentence just punched her in the stomach and now the whole truth ached in her ears. She grabbed hold of one the stable's wooden posts and clung to it, trying to balance herself. Heero didn't know what else to do, but grabbed her in his arms and pulled her close to his chest. He felt her warm tears trickling down onto his white cotton shirt and he remained quiet, allowing Relena to come to grips with the truth. He heard her say something, "Thank you...my Pegasus," and she fell limp in his arms.

"Relena?" He figured that she fainted from the onslaught of information and gently laid her in a nearby haystack...Sally would have scorned at him for carrying her back to Duo's home. With that, he resumed his business of grooming the horses, while keeping an eye on his sleeping neighbor.

* * *

"What do you mean they haven't found him yet?" Milliardo banged his fists on the table and tried not to reveal his true identity to the sheriff.

"There are hardly any tracks left in the vicinity of where he bailed out." The sheriff lay back in his chair. "Even the hounds tried their best...that Bennett boy must have found some ravine and crossed it. The dogs could only track up to the edge of Winfield's borders, which suggests that he may have fled into Western Springs." He continued on with his slight southern accent, "But my friends there tell me, they saw Bennett awhile back at the local hotel there...it wouldn't make sense for him to go back."

"And why are you still on the job?" His eyes glared with fury.

"Look mister, I try to do my best to uphold the law around these neck of the woods. Looking for replacements is pretty hard to come by these days...since it seems no one wants to do the dirty work."

"I think this town overpays you too much." He left the small station in disgust that this "so-called" sheriff was still on the job and for these weeks, no one had the whereabouts of William Bennett. _If I had my way, this wouldn't have happened in the first place...none of this would have-_

"Pardon me, sir, sorry about that." A man in his early twenties walked right into Milliardo with a small bag of food.

"Here let me help you with those," he picked up some fruit and a small loaf of bread. He looked into the man's face and the eyes triggered something in his mind, but he brushed it off...seeing that he was paranoid of a killer-to-be was on the loose.

"Gladly appreciate it." The man tipped his hat and was off on his way towards his black stallion.

_What an odd fellow_...Milliardo continued on his train of thought and it was something about that man that still made alarms sound off in his mind. He saddled on his horse and rode home, trying to take his mind off of William Bennett. The stress of the past several weeks have been taking a toll on his mind and body, but he didn't want anyone to really know what was going on.

Lu could already see her husband coming off from the main road and she held their infant son closely to her. She bounced the baby in her arms and he smiled back right her. "Look Papa is coming home." She picked one of his small stubby arms and gently waved it towards Milliardo. The boy looked in the direction of his father and giggled out loud. "Any news from the town yet?"

"Nothing new...that sheriff back there is useless." He dismounted and walked over towards them, giving both of them a light kiss.

"You look like you could use some sleep."

"I'm fine."

"Tell me, Zechs, you can't fool me."

Whenever his wife used his alias, he knew she had picked something up and was going to press the matter until he caved in. "It's nothing, honestly."

She juggled the baby in her arms, "I know something is wrong. You can tell me anything, Zechs. After I rode all the way from Boston after just a week of giving birth, I think I can handle anything."

"All right...all right...you win." He ran his hand through his short hair, "I bumped into this man and he had the same eyes like William. The resemblance was uncanny...I might be just going crazy."

"You might...you might not be...but I don't want you to start accusing people of looking like William." She sat next to him on the porch steps and gave him their son, "Did you see anything else of his features?"

"No," he said at point-blank.

"Well maybe he's just a passerby."

"Maybe."

"But right now, I think both father and son should have a nap time." She noticed that both father and son yawned at the same time.

* * *

A knock was heard on the senior Yuy's office door. "Who is it?"

"Mr. Yuy, someone is looking for Heero." His secretary called from the other side of the door.

"Tell whomever it is, he's no longer working here." He continued to work on a stack of papers. Ever since his son left the firm, cases were starting to pile up nonstop. _Why Heero did you have to ruin your life...by going to that [bar]_...he looked at the clock and noticed it was already half past nine. _And to have my rivals exploit the story_..._it makes me sick_. He still remembered the day when Heero went to visit him in trying to clear up the mess, but only matters worsened due to his arrogance and violent temper. The words still stung in his conscience and now he wished he had taken those words back. _What have I done_...

The secretary returned to her main desk and politely told the woman about the news.

"Are you sure?" The lady looked like she was on pin and needles and yet, she concealed a false secret.

"I'm sure, if you would please excuse me, I need to continue on with my work." The secretary started to write out some letters in calligraphy and didn't pay anymore attention to the woman standing in the front entrance.

The woman left the office and walked out onto New York's streets. _How dare she treat me like that as if I were some kind of trash_. She went over to a local restaurant and ordered a cup of coffee. When the waiter had placed the cup in front of her, she paid him and minded her own business again. She stared into the brown liquid and saw her own reflection. She remembered the night that Heero had entered the local bar that she was working at. His shirt was raveled and he was tired from arguing over a four-hour case that he had lost to one of his father's rivals on a business merger. On that night, she served him some whiskey and before long, he was talking about the case he lost. She tried to follow through his slurred conversation, but kept nodding at various parts.

Unaware to the two of them, a photographer was in the bar just minding his own business until he caught Heero talking to her. He watched intently knowing that the son of a formidable attorney was at a bar, making a total fool out of himself. Right then, he saw Heero grab her and kissed her. Without a moment to lose, the photographer quickly took the picture and left the area. It was that flash that brought her out of their kiss and everyone quickly turned their heads, pretending as if nothing had happen. Heero avoided eye contact as he stumbled out onto the streets, but she just remained at the table, trying to ignore the whole incident. The next day later, everyone started to call her as Yuy's mistress and her world came crashing down. She even had to change her name of Sylvia to Cynthia several times. And now, she wanted compensation from him, figuring that he was too drunk to remember the incident, she would play the role of being pregnant and claim Heero as the father. Only problem now, she couldn't find him anywhere. _Where can you be, Heero? _She grasped the cup and pondered on his possible locations.

At a table ahead of her, she saw a man leave his newspaper and decided to read it for herself. It was the paper from Western Springs. She leafed through the pages quickly, the same boring news about country-life and various sales from shops. But then, there was a tiny article on the Peacecraft incident that caught her attention and she skimmed over the lines until one name popped up from it. _So there you are, you've been hiding in Winfield all this time_. An evil smile graced her soft facial features.

* * *

Relena started to scream out in her sleep, as events of her encounter with William started to filter in her dreams. She saw the menace in his green eyes and she fought him as long as she could. "Stop it...no!!!" All she heard were his laughs mocking at her weakness and then she heard Heero's voice in her dream. "Heero," she called out and she started to scream again as William kept taunting her mind.

"Get a hold of yourself, Relena." Heero came running towards her in the haystack, trying to calm her down. He saw one of her hands came flaying near him and caught it in midair before she had a chance to slap him, but in her dream, she was trying to slap William. He tried to shake her in hopes of waking her up. "It's me, Heero."

"Get away from me, William!" She started kicking at her supposed assailant and resumed her screaming.

Heero had no choice but to pin her down...he didn't know how long she would last like this in her dream. He screamed her name again, but then it didn't help at all. He took a couple of more kicks from her, "Snap out of it. You're safe!" His back started to ache and yet he kept a strong grip on her until she managed to wriggle one of her arms away from him. The slap landed on his left cheek and he keeled over on her. He tried to get up but his back wouldn't listen to his commands. _This is just perfect_... he grimaced.

Relena quieted down awhile and then her eyes opened, wondering who was on top of her, "Heero." She tried wriggling out from under his weight, but couldn't.

"Hn."

"What happened?"

"You were having a nightmare about William." He tried getting up again, but it was another unsuccessful attempt.

She shifted him off of her chest and he landed right next to her. Her face was red again, "How bad was I?"

"Very bad." He rubbed his back slightly. The lateral position of the past several minutes didn't do any justice to his wound.

She noticed that his left side of his cheek was a bright red hue itself, "Did I do that too?"

He nodded a yes in response.

"I'm so sorry." She slowly got up from the hay and helped Heero up too. She could tell that he was in pain still. "Here let me look at your back...I hope I didn't rupture anything." A worried look crept on her face.

"I'm fine."

"Oh stop putting up that strong front of yours and let me look...obviously it'll be hard for you to check on the wound without a mirror." She twirled him around and lifted the cotton shirt, a piece of cotton bandage was still there just in case anything happened. "It doesn't look like it ripped."

"You satisfied now." He pulled his shirt back down.

She could tell that he was still tense from the incident and she started to massage the area lightly. She felt the muscles beginning to relax a little and she thought she heard a soft moan come from him. "Why did you save me back then?"

Silence enveloped them, as he felt her hands still roaming on his back, "I'm not too sure..." He leaned his arms against the wooden post, but he knew the answer to her question. A funny feeling ran through his heart and it started to cloud his senses...it was love. "Relena...I..." The words just stuck to his tongue and he tried to say them, but he couldn't. All of his defenses of keeping her out had finally broke down and he was now out in the open. He remembered their first kiss by the lake...it was long yet there was something he had never felt before.

He turned around and grabbed her hands.

"Are you all right?" she whispered. She noticed that he kept moving closer to her. She could feel his breath on her face. She was about to say something, but he silenced her with his fingers. Her heart began to flutter and she could feel her face blushing again.

All of a sudden, she felt the assault on her lips and knew this was her answer to her question. Memories from before faded as new ones were created from this moment. She felt him lifting her up and before long, the feeling of soft hay surrounded her.

"Welcome back." He paused for a moment and looked down on her.

"It feels good to be back," she smiled and threw a fistful of hay at him. Right then, the two began a mini warfare of tossing hay at each other with laughs escaping from both of them. She never recalled him laugh before, but now she knew that there was a soft side to him after all. "I surrender...you win." She felt more hay being dumped over her. "Why did you do that for?" She knew Heero wouldn't say anything else, and she tried to pin him down. Inadvertently, he managed to pin her down. She didn't do anything else, but stare into his eyes. She then reached up to kiss him and he accepted.

Right then, he began to fumble with her summer dress. The faint green fabric was smooth under his hands and he found the row of buttons. Soon after, her lacy petticoat was revealed. But at the same time, she removed his shirt and kissed him under his chin. "Are you sure about this?" he asked and she nodded in return. She felt the straps loosen along with the fabric falling away from the top, where it eventually landed near her waistline. A light breeze swept against her, but Heero's warmth lessened the effect.

His caresses were gentle and it took her mind off of William for awhile. "Do you think he'll ever be found?" She pulled away from his hands and kiss.

He pulled her close to him and shielded her body, "Yes...it might just take some time." He played with a strand of her honey blonde hair, "We both survived, didn't we?"

She snuggled closer to him and felt his heartbeat against her cheek. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that her day would turn up like this, but she was glad it did. She sought her answers to her troubling questions; yet in turn, she found that love was still there for her and William's grasp in her mind was weakening.

The two remained there and listened to the horses in the background. All of a sudden, grumbles came from both of their stomachs. "It looks like you skipped breakfast, Heero."

"And so did you," he replied back.

"Not really, I had a little biscuit this morning."

"I'm sure Duo has something in the kitchen." He got up from the hay and buttoned his shirt. He helped Relena off the haystack and helped her with the straps of her petticoat, making sure he didn't tighten the straps too hard. After that, he helped her button her dress.

The two emerged from the stable, trying to act as if nothing had happened. They snuck through the back door, hoping to escape from Duo if he was home. "Come on," he signaled for her to follow him to the kitchen. He quickly went to the small icebox and to his amazement; a small portion of turkey still remained. "How does a turkey sandwich sound to you?"

"Sounds great," she smiled. She left him for a small time and ventured into the dining room that was decorated with the rice paper. She remembered seeing the room before and how she first met Heero. In the background, she heard him place the plates on the table and came to his side.

"Well here's lunch." He dressed the white porcelain plates with small slices of cantaloupe and honeydew melon to accommodate the sandwiches.

"It looks great." She took a small bite into the sandwich and the sweet meat just flooded her taste buds. She noticed that he watching her as she chewed and nearly choked on her food. "What?" She covered her mouth with her right hand.

"Nothing." He bit into his sandwich and chewed contently. Right then, he heard footsteps coming from the back door and not before long, Duo popped into the room.

"I see that we have a guest here." He walked over to Relena, "So how are you doing today?"

"Just terrific, Heero made lunch actually." She finished the last of the fruit pieces on her plate.

He looked towards the plates, "I see and it looks like he was occupied with something else," he pulled a piece of hay from Heero's shirt.

The two began to blush lightly in their faces and if anyone heard about their secret liaison, they would never hear the end of scorns coming from their neighbors.

"Well it's about time you two finally got together," he grinned and grabbed a piece of cantaloupe off from Heero's plate when he was leaving to the back door.

* * *

TBC

It looks like more trouble is brewing for our couple with Sylvia on her way and who is this mysterious guy that appears out of nowhere....hmmm. Could it be William? Special thanks goes out to my reviewers from last time: **Ladybug**, **CrimsonDragon010**, and **Sakura123**. Well thanks for reading and please review, I would appreciate the feedback. =)


	15. Summer's End

Hi everyone, here's the long awaited update...two months in the making! Thanks for hanging in there and I appreciate your loyalty. I would like to a give a special thanks to my reviewers from the last chapter: Sakura123, CrimsonDragon010, Wing, Ladybug, Bulma BriefsYue Lover, Nubia, and Sarah. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter!

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Summer's End

* * *

"You look different today..." he looked towards his sister and saw a glow around her.  
  
"What makes you think that?" She tried to dance around the subject of Heero, hoping he wouldn't notice.  
  
"It's just something about you...that's all." He handled Liam with great care and bounced the boy off his knee. "How's Heero doing anyway? It seems like he triggered your memory back."  
  
She blushed at the sound of his name, "He's doing fine actually...I see him from time to time training his horse."  
  
"I see," there was something in her voice that didn't sit too well with him. "Would you like to hold Liam now? I think he wants his aunt."  
  
Relena cradled the boy in her arms and the two became silent until Lu came out with small glasses of ice tea. "Ah look at that, it looks like Liam has a liking for you...he's never that quiet around us."  
  
The aunt smiled modestly and continued to look into her nephew's eyes. The boy giggled as she lifted him up to the sky and brought him back down. She wondered what her family would be like in the future, even though she might be a few years away from giving birth to children of her own.  
  
"Well I'm heading into town for some supplies...the stable needs some fixing up." Milliardo got up from his seat, "I'll be back soon."  
  
"All right dear, I'll see you later." With her husband gone, Lu honed her attention on her sister-in-law, "So what have you been up to lately?"  
  
"Nothing at all, just letting the summer days pass," she continued to hold Liam in her arms. He was nestled against her chest. "I think he's ready for a nap."  
  
"And I think so, myself." She went back into the house and pulled the bassinet into the shady corner of the porch. She carefully lifted her sleepy son from Relena's arms and placed him in his tiny bed.  
  
"He's getting heavy."  
  
"He's a good eater...I guess he takes after Milliardo," a small laugh escaped from her lips. "So what have you really been up to?" She veered their discussion back to Relena again, after noticing the girl was trying to avoid the subject.  
  
"Nothing really," she felt her face flush and the warm summer heat didn't do any justice. "Just trying to catch up here and there." She looked out into the pasture, "It just seems odd how my life has turned in these past few weeks."  
  
"You've been seeing him, haven't you?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Her eyes felt like they were going to fall out of their sockets...she didn't think that Lu could pick up on it so soon.  
  
"Well do tell...I practically have all day," she reached over for a cold glass of ice tea. "I'm very sure Liam won't stir yet."  
  
"You wouldn't tell mother, would you?" She was apprehensive in giving the details out, not knowing how Lu would react.  
  
"You know I wouldn't at the track record from the two of you. And from my point of view, she drew Milliardo almost to the breaking point."  
  
She took a deep breathe in and all of a sudden, a torrent of words burst outward from her lungs, "I've been seeing, Heero." The last syllables of her sentence lingered on her tongue for awhile, but she finally felt relieved that it was out in the open...the secret that she was hiding from everyone for the past week.  
  
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" She continued to hold her glass in one hand. "Love can make your mind go delusional at times...I'll attest to that fact, but it's worth it." She looked over to her sleeping boy and noticed a soft angelic look on his face.  
  
"I guess you're right," and yet, she still held part of her secret from Lu...not wanting to spoil the warm tingling feeling that was resonating in her heart. "Well, I must be on my way now...thanks for everything Lu."  
  
"All right then, take care now and stop by whenever you want."  
  
With that, Relena walked back onto the familiar road and decided to make a short errand to Duo's home hoping to see Heero there. On her way there, she remembered some of their midnight rendezvous after their first reunion back in Duo's stable. During those "dangerous" escapes from the house, she never felt so alive before and that breaking every rule in the book was self-rewarding...she didn't care what her mother would have thought...this was her own life. It was as if the accident had unsealed her inner self and her true feelings for her mysterious neighbor. There were still some things she didn't know about him personally, but she felt the tidbits of information would reveal themselves to her one day.  
  
She could still feel his arms around her and his gentleness made her yearn for more. She didn't know how long she could keep her feelings bottled up and at times, she felt like she would blow the whole secret out to everyone that she knew. She glanced up ahead and noticed the familiar surroundings and before long, she spotted Duo reading the morning newspaper. Without looking up from the article, "He's out in the stable again...as usual."  
  
"Thanks, Duo." She headed off into the direction of the stable and before long, she saw him working in the back. "Hi there," she pushed one of the stable doors aside. "You seem to work in here nonstop."  
  
"Hn." He continued to pound on a wooden crate of some sort with a hammer. The sweat glistened in the soft light that filtered through the wooden boards. "Duo ordered something from the general store and it finally came this morning."  
  
"Why isn't he opening it?" She tried to hold the box in the place, while he tried to open it by jarring a nail at the corner.  
  
"You know how he is..." The sounds of wood splintering interrupted his sentence, "...Hilde should be here any moment now."  
  
"Ahh that's right," she smiled. "How long have those two been together?"  
  
"Pretty much the whole summer." He dug into the crate and pulled out the polished black leather saddle. "What was he thinking?"  
  
"Are you going to ride again?" She fingered the material in her hand.  
  
"Not too sure...I just train Duo's horses that's all." He placed the object right onto a vacant stall's ledge, where Duo would find it.  
  
"You're afraid to go back on a horse, aren't you?" She stepped closer to him.  
  
"No I'm not," he moved away from her. The two heard sounds of laughter already coming from the front of the stable, "It looks like Hilde is here now."  
  
"Don't you dare change the subject." She stepped even closer to him, "You're really afraid, aren't you?"  
  
"As I said before, I'm not." He went over to his horse that Duo supposedly gave to him.  
  
Relena started to do the math in her head and came up that it was nearly four weeks since everything had happened. "Prove it." She went over to the rear of the stable and grabbed some stirrups along with a decent comfortable saddle.  
  
He roughly grabbed the objects from her hands and prepared his horse for his first test run...or rather ride. "This isn't going to be pretty."  
  
"I don't care...you've been avoiding to ride all this time and here you were being mister tough." She watched him lead his horse out into the pasture. "Well go on..." she nudged him further.  
  
He dreaded the thought of making a total fool out of himself and with a grunt as a reply, he clamored onto his horse's back. The height from the ground didn't faze him, but the fact that his legs might not be in good working condition concerned him. He didn't know how bad that gunshot wound was, even though Sally made sure that his senses in his legs were intact. He made a light cluck sound with the roof of his mouth and urged his horse to move forward. The initial steps jarred his back slightly, but he held the pain in. He wanted to prove Relena wrong and tighten his handle on the reins. He gently nudged his horse to a canter and that was a big mistake. He forgot how fast his horse was and before long, he was bouncing up and down in his saddle.  
  
Relena noticed that he was in trouble and ran over to the renegade black stallion, hoping to slow it down somehow. "Easy boy...easy now." She raised her hands slightly and before long, the horse obeyed her and tossed the rider out of his saddle onto the barren pasture.  
  
"Thanks partner, for your help." He looked at his horse and noticed it laughed at him with a cheesy grin. He rubbed his tailbone area and regretted the ride.  
  
"Are you all right, Heero?" She looked cautiously over him to make sure there weren't any cuts or minor injuries.  
  
"I'm fine...and see...I told you I could ride still." He continued to rub his tailbone.  
  
"I think your riding skills could use a little more work." She pulled him off from the ground.  
  
"Hn." He dusted off his pants and walked with an odd gait.  
  
"Do you need some ice?" She noticed that Heero was in some discomfort.  
  
"I can manage." He stared straight ahead and eyed the stable. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his horse was moving along with them...maybe hoping that he would receive some type of treat for his morning jaunt. He's not getting a sugar cube from me. The trio finally arrived in the hay-strewn stable and Heero led his horse inside to its small stall. It quickly noticed that Heero left him without his treat and stuck his head onto the side hoping to get some attention.  
  
Relena noticed his little temper and snuck in the sweet treat into his lips. She gently patted his forehead and rubbed part of his neck, "Good boy."  
  
"Traitor." He could have sworn the horse teased him again.  
  
"I think he's a well-natured horse." She continued to run her hands through his mane. She said her good-byes to the gentle creature and went out the stable. She heard footsteps behind her and felt his arms wrapped around her petite waist. "You should treat your horse more kindly you know. He might listen to you one of these days." She clasped her hands over his hold and leaned into his chest.  
  
"He's just jealous." He took her scent of roses in.  
  
"What makes you think that?"  
  
"All of Duo's horses rejected him."  
  
"Oh really?" She looked into his eyes. "Maybe I should bring in my mare then...she's been restless as long as I can remember."  
  
"Maybe." He shifted the conversation to something else, "Why don't we take an afternoon dip?"  
  
"Now..." she looked at him with a queer eye, "I still have errands to run and my mother will think I ditched her again. I have to meet with Martha in the late afternoon."  
  
"The errands can wait, you still have some time left." He looked up in the mid-summer sky and noticed that the season was going to end soon. "You're going back to Newberry in another month."  
  
The time frame hadn't hit her yet and now it finally did. She didn't realize how fast the time passed and once the summer was finished, she knew her monotonous life back in Newberry would begin again. And besides from that, her father's term would be up for anyone's taking in the coming fall. "I guess you're right...I haven't really given any thought to it."  
  
Without saying a word, he led her to the familiar path. Throughout their walk, the two remained quiet, but he kept a strong hold in her hand and tried to reassure her that everything was okay. He knew he was leading her to the spot where everything had occurred, but in Winfield, this was only the largest body of water, where they could get some privacy. In no time, they were finally there.  
  
"It looks so different now," she felt the goose bumps pierce her skin and a slight shudder vibrated throughout her body.  
  
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" He looked directly into her eyes and gauged her reaction.  
  
"No...it's fine. I need to face my fears and not run away. I don't want him to win still," her voice didn't quaver one bit. Before Heero had any say to the matter again, she discarded her summer dress and plunged into the cool water.  
  
Panic struck through each muscle fiber in his body when she hadn't resurfaced in the minutes that passed and he looked toward the area where she went in. The area didn't look too shallow enough to hit her head or any of the sort. _Where is she?_ Various scenarios played throughout his mind, and without anymore hesitation, he dove in himself in hopes of finding her. He felt the minutes pass quickly by him and he still couldn't find her. He resurfaced and looked in the surrounding vicinity and didn't find anything except for weeds and floating leaf matter here and there. "Relena!"  
  
"I'm right here, Heero." She tapped him on his shoulders.  
  
"Don't you ever do that again," he wiped some water from his eyes. "I thought you drowned in the murky waters."  
  
"I just dove down by a weed bed," she treaded the water to the best of her ability.  
  
"Don't ever scare me again." He bobbed down into the water to clear his thoughts. He could have sworn that the accident had made her more spontaneous now. Before the accident, she seemed quiet and reserved. When he went back for air, he found her still treading water and to get a little payback from his earlier scare, he grabbed her and pulled her down into the murky water. The two remained there just peering at each other knowing they had seen more before. He paddled his way towards her and embraced her in the water. Before they knew it, they were both kissing each other and sharing their breaths together. The urge for air finally brought the couple back to the surface.  
  
"That was amazing," she still tried to control her breathing. She could still see Heero conveying a slight sparkle in his eyes...the desire of lust. Her emotions started to boil over, but she had to stop them before anything else happened like before, "I have to be going now, I can't let my mother wait on me all afternoon...it would just set a bad precedence if my mother has guests over at this very moment." She quickly made an attempt to head towards the shore, but she heard Heero coming after her.  
  
"Just stay a little more."  
  
She immediately changed the subject, "It sure seems like your injury has healed from this morning."  
  
Her statement caught him off guard, "It hurts here," and pointed to his lower back. "And here," he then pointed to his biceps.  
  
"The oldest trick in the book. And when did you start showing your pains?" She was placing her dress on when she felt his hands stop her. "I need to leave now," but in her heart, she wanted to stay with him forever in his arms. A soft moan escape from her lips, as she felt his hands caressing over her wet shoulders. She spun around and looked into his rejuvenated eyes...there was a softness she hadn't seen before and it brought out the Prussian hue within them. "I promise I'll be back soon," she could feel the straps of her corset falling from her shoulders and she quickly readjusted them.  
  
A look of defeat shown in his eyes, but he didn't dare complain. He helped her tie her corset, "You know where I'll be."  
  
"I know," she leaned up towards his forehead and kissed him.  
  
Before she was out of his grasp, he stole one more kiss from her and let her go.

* * *

She ran as fast as she could in hopes of not angering her mother for her tardiness. She hadn't told Heero that there was going to be another ball...thanks to the courtesy of Trudy of overhearing her mother's conversation with Martha. "I wonder what's she up to now...I swear if she's going to plan something, she won't hear the end of it from me." The front porch was in her sight and she raced up the steps. Without knocking, she quickly stepped in, hoping that her mother and her guests wouldn't be in the nearby living room or foyer.  
  
"There you are, Relena," her mother's voice rang through the quietness of the house. "Martha's here at this moment. Why don't come in and sit with us for awhile? We're in the midst of planning the last summer ball."  
  
Relena rolled her eyes and smoothed out her dress, "Hello Mrs. Adams," she said curtly.  
  
"And a good day to you, child. My...did we just have a brief summer storm? You're soaking wet right down to your skin." The old woman looked shock and confused in the moment.  
  
"No...I just decided to go for a quick dip in the lake." She seated herself at a chair far away from the two of them as possible.  
  
"Well dear, you should have known we were going to have some guests over." The matriarch sipped from a cup of rose tea. "Anyhow, how does this coming Saturday at seven sound to you? I figure some of the families will be leaving soon for the fall season. I've already taken the liberty of calling come of our closet neighbors already."  
  
She figured that her mother was already in the post-planning stages of their ball, "It sounds wonderful. Would you mind if I invite Heero to the ball?"  
  
Her mother pondered on that request for a couple of minutes, "Well...whatever you want my dear." She knew she couldn't deny her only daughter's request, since he was the one that regained her memories.  
  
"It looks like I finally get to meet this Heero of yours," a sparkle of gossip flashed in Martha's eyes. "I never really did have a chance to introduce myself to him and I'm sure the other ladies would be glad to meet him too." The old woman shuffled from her seat and headed for the door. "I'll see you Saturday night then dear at seven."  
  
Relena nodded from the living room's entrance after seeing Martha to the door. She looked towards her mother afterwards and the two remained quiet from one another. She finally broke the silence, "Well, I'm going to let Heero know he's invited for the final summer ball."  
  
Her mother broke out of her contemplation, "Won't you be staying for dinner? Trudy said it would be served soon."  
  
"No...I'll just grab something at Duo's." With that said, she escaped from her home once more.  
  
"Hello, Relena, where are you going at this hour?" Her father looked at his watch, as he called out to her.  
  
"I'm just heading towards the Maxwells," she yelled back.  
  
"I see...well then take care yourself." He walked towards the front of his summer home and saw his wife staring out the window. "Why do you look so blue?"  
  
"Hmm," she was brought out of her reminiscing. "I think our daughter's in love actually." She was thinking about the times when Relena needed her as a child and the mini tea parties she held in the dining room with her dolls. "I'm losing her slowly."  
  
"We have to let go eventually, my dear," he hugged his wife by her side and peered out to the disappearing image of their daughter beyond the forest tree line. "It looks like we have the whole house to ourselves...well almost."  
  
"What are you insinuating now?" She looked up into her husband's crystal blue eyes and how she fell in love with him for the first time.  
  
"How about this proposal...a dinner under the stars tonight? The weather seems it will cooperate for the time being and I'll send the maids home early." His eyes held an inquisitive look in them and showed his inner youth was still vibrant.  
  
"It sound like a plan," she clung to him tighter.

* * *

Relena arrived by sunset and watched the summer sparrows flock to one of their spring nesting sites with their chirps echoing everywhere. _Almost there...what do I say to him?_ _I don't know if he wants to go this ball._ The chirps interrupted her thoughts for awhile..._think._ She started to talk to herself aloud, "Hi Heero...guess what...you're invited to my mother's ball!" _No no...too outgoing...it makes me sound like an idiot that desperately needs an escort._ "Hi Heero...would you be interested in attending my mother's ball? If not, I understand." _That sounds better though, but something's missing from it._ She kept talking to herself and was unaware that someone was watching her. _Of all possible times, why do I have to become speechless now?_ Her pulse quickened as the house came closer and that she could almost walk onto the front porch. _Here goes nothing_...she knocked firmly on the door hoping someone would answer. Two minutes passed by and no one answered the door yet. _Guess I'll try another time._ She looked down at her feet and started to head away from the door when she bumped into someone. The scent from the shirt made her look up. "Heero," she was speechless at that very moment.  
  
"What brings you here?"  
  
"Um um," she began to fidget with the corner of her dress. Then in rapid fire succession she blurted the words out, "Would come to the my mother's dance this Saturday around seven?" She felt like her heart was going to explode any minute.  
  
Heero's ears tried to register what she blurted out, "Let me get this straight...you're inviting me to your mother's dance."  
  
She nodded curtly as her mind tried to catch up to speed on the current situation. But then, she started to ramble, "If you don't want to come that's fine with me and I know you don't like these social events in the first place. And if you do want to come, that's great too and I know you have a couple of intrigued socialites waiting to meet you."  
  
"I'm in," he whispered, but he knew she didn't hear him at all during her mini rampage of possible scenarios that could happen. He knew one thing that could bring her down to earth...he reached over to her and kissed her on her lips. He held her face in his hands, "I'll go with you."  
  
She felt like an idiot at that moment and her face flushed even redder. She smiled sheepishly, "Thank you."  
  
"Will this be one of those white-gloved dances again?" He tried to strike up a conversation again.  
  
"Of course," she teased him with a kiss, "why wouldn't it be?"

* * *

TBC  
  
How will the summer season end...will it end in tears or joys? Stay tuned. Please review, I would love any type of feedback and thank you.


	16. The Calm Before the Storm

Hi everyone...back from my long semester, I've been pretty much tied up with classes and all. I would like to say thanks to the following reviewers from last chapter: Pure Angel Enchantress, Wing, Ladybug, Sakura123, and Kia. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

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The Calm Before the Storm

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Heero pulled out his gold-rimmed pocket watch and the dials already showed a quarter to six...he wasn't ready at all. He stood in his room just doing nothing right when Duo knocked. His long-time friend frowned upon his procrastination, "Why aren't you ready yet? Relena's ball is about to start in another hour." He zipped through the wardrobe closet and pulled a crisp black tuxedo into his arm. "Here this would be a good start." He then rummaged through a couple of drawers and tossed a pair of clean white gloves onto the bed, "I don't know why you always become this lethargic before social dances."

"Its just old habits..." he shrugged.

Duo mocked back, "Its just old habits...whatever you say. If you'll excuse me, I have to escort Hilde to the dance." He whipped around and walked out the door and clamored down the stairs.

Heero looked towards his bed, "Here goes nothing." He picked the tuxedo up and dressed himself in ten minutes flat. The stiff cotton rubbed against his neck and he hated the feeling of it, but he had to endure it for the next few hours. He smoothed out the collar and tucked in his white shirt.

The clock in the foyer rang out six chimes and each chime sent a chill down his spine. _Time to release the hounds._ He gave himself a quick glance in the mirror and headed down. By the time he reached the last step, mental alarms were sounding off...warning him that he was missing something. _The gloves!_ He leaped up the stairs, skipping a couple here and there, until he made it back to his room and grabbed the light compact items. _Still time to spare._ This dance was started to wreck havoc on him. How could something like this unnerve his entire mind and he knew what the true reason to his behavior was...it was her. He quickly locked the doors to Duo's home and decided to take the long way to the Peacecrafts. The idea of arriving early would mean a barrage of questions from Martha and company on how he miraculously saved Relena and how he too was wounded in the conflict.

In the foreground, he could already see a line of carriages crossing to the Peacecraft mansion. He continued on by walking along the forest's dark edge and eventually traversed the lake's far end in no time. Even from that vantage point, the warm-up music drifted towards him and he knew he had to be there soon or else.

"Where could he be?" Relena peered through her lace curtains with her lucid blue eyes searching through the onslaught of incoming guests. She went back to her mirror and coiled her hair into a tight coiffure and adorned it with a baby blue silk ribbon that matched her evening dress.

"Are you ready dear?" Her mother called from the other side of her bedroom door. "We can't keep our guests waiting," a hint of impatience formed in the last syllables of her request.

"I know, mother." She gave a quick once over in her mirror and powdered her nose, "that should do it."

"And don't forget your gloves!" her mother called out with a tapping noise coming from her foot.

Within less than a minute, she appeared by her mother's side. "You don't have to stand by room constantly. I'm perfectly fine."

"I was just making sure you were being punctual," she started heading towards the stairs and behind her, Relena gave her a mocking expression.

By the time the pair reached the bottom, Martha and company emerged from the foyer dressed in their evenings finest. "You look lovely, my dear. Now tell me, where is this Heero Yuy of yours?"

"I haven't seen him yet, but he should be here soon." She tried to cover for him. "He promised."

A couple of the ladies began to frown upon his tardiness. Katrina saw the tension build slightly, "Shall we head over to the ballroom now and wait for the others? I don't think they'll mind at all."

"That's a splendid idea," replied Martha, who started to fan herself on this humid summer night.

The entourage entered the spacious chandeliered-lighted room and took their respective seats designated by silver foiled name cards. Rumors already spread that Heero was going to be a no show. One of the ladies seated next to Martha had a quibble about his tardiness, "I heard he didn't like attending these formal events," a sly look graced her already wrinkled features."

Relena saw the mini mutiny starting at the table and graced her presence once more, "My Gertrude that's a lovely dress you're wearing." She saw the instigator wear a simple black-laced dress that seemed out of the times for ball attendees.

"Well thank you, child," she forced a smile.

"And for your information, he'll be here, ladies." She hated the way that these women were already treating him...she hoped that the night would end on a lighter note.

Behind her, she could her small snippets of the gossip carrying over to her ears, "Do you think those two are smitten?" asked Gertrude, who was instigating something new.

"Gertrude Rose...I'm appalled by your question," Martha nearly spat out her sip of water.

"I just wanted to know the truth. The way she defended him could have suggested that." She looked over her shoulders and spotted the blonde in her sight.

"Just because you haven't found a husband is an attest to the fact of your sour personality," she knew she cornered Gertrude for the night. All the other ladies were shocked as well from her comment, but they were thankful for her move to quiet Gertrude.

"I see then...hmph," Gertrude's face grew even more wrinkled as the minutes passed.

A clank against glassware brought everyone out of their deep conversations. "May I please have everyone's attention...thank you all for coming tonight and for your undying support for these past several weeks...you don't know how much we truly appreciated it. And as the host for tonight's ball, I'm glad to say let the festivities begin." Katrina motioned her hand that ordered the quartet to start the music again.

Trudy peeped out from the back doors to see how the dance was starting, while as for her chores, the kitchen was filled with brimming pots and pans. _Trudy, make sure the clam chowder is at its best along with the veal._ At times, she swore that she could hear Katrina in her sleep. She hustled back to the kitchen where two other maids were manning the clam chowder. "That's enough stirring...the soup should be set by now."

"Good I think my arm is going to fall any minute, I would rather dust than do this..." one of the maids blew at a lose strand of her hair from her face.

"Mrs. Peacecraft will see to that if she was here," Trudy was already serving the soup into smaller bowls.

"See to what?" The matriarch just stood out a few feet from the kitchen and within earshot to their conversation.

"Oh nothing ma'am...the girls and I were just having a chat," she continued on with her work.

"Has anyone seen the servers for tonight?"

"No ma'am, but check the back porch. I believe I heard some chit chat going on." Trudy finished placing the fifty-some porcelain bowls onto three trolley carts.

"I don't want this last ball to end in a disaster," she quickly rushed out towards the back porch and caught the three lazy server boys lounging around.

Trudy and the others could hear muffled sounds of Katrina being flustered and all. The group heard the backdoor slam with Katrina rushing back to her guests with a terse look on her face. Minutes later, the three young gentlemen entered with terrified looks, but quickly wiped them off. "Cheer up, she's really not that way all the time." She then handed each of them a little muffin as a snack. "Now off you go."

The three lads entered the ballroom with their trolley carts, making sure that each of their guests received the piping hot soup. When one of the came across Heero's empty seat, he didn't know what to do. "Excuse me miss, is there someone sitting next to you?"

She smiled politely, "Yes...but I think he's running a little late. You could just place the bowl right there. Thank you."

"It looks like Heero will be a no show for tonight," Katrina scooped the creamy top layer her silver spoon.

"Now now dear...don't be judgmental on the boy," her father was starting to put his foot down. "You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of our guests." The three ate their soup quietly among the stirring chatter of their guests until Relena spoke up once more.

"I was thinking about this long and hard," she placed her soup spoon down, figuring that she'll end up fumbling with it in the long run, "Father, I know your re-election is coming up and how we're all needed back in Newberry, but I want to stay here for the remainder of the year."

"You're talking nonsense," her mother was appalled at her daughter's request.

"I'm not talking nonsense," she gripped the edge of the seat, "There's no life for me back at Newberry and during election time, there won't be anything for me to do in the long-run." She remained as calm as she could in the given surrounding area. "Can I just stay here for the remainder of the year?"

Katrina was about to open her mouth for a rebuttal, but was stop by her husband, "Enough said," he raised his hand to stop his wife from making a scene of herself, "She has a point, dear. You can stay here if you want, Relena, and you're always welcome to come home when you need to. I'm sure going to miss you on the campaign trail though."

"Thank you, father," a smile graced her petite features.

"Do you think he's going to be here, Duo?" Hilde looked at him with her cornflower eyes.

"He should be," he adjusted his collar slightly. The room was beginning to become a little too warm.

Hilde looked over to her friend at the main table, "Poor Relena...she must be feeling miserable by now." She fiddled with her soup,

Duo strained his neck to see the Peacecraft table, "I think she actually looks happy right now."

She took a sip of water, "You should have just dragged him along with you."

"Better yet, I should have taken my shotgun from the bedroom and used it on him to leave the house twenty minutes prior to the ball." He looked around the endless sea of black mixed with splashes of colors.

Pagan remained on the lookout for the missing guest. He heard a rustle in the far off bushes and immediately recognized who it was. "Ah there you are my boy. I'm glad you could come."

"Likewise." He removed a couple of leaves from his tuxedo. "Have they started?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Everyone thought you weren't attending tonight." He guided Heero to the room, where everyone was anticipating his arrival. "She'll be glad to see you."

He gave the old butler a weak smile.

"You'll do fine." The two stood out in front of the closed doors. "Ready?"

The young man nodded anticipated to see the whole room turn to see him. He never felt so nervous before.

Pagan turned the large ornate brass knobs and cleared his throat, "Heero Yuy has arrived." He turned towards him and bowed allowing him to enter.

Heero slowly walked into the large room lined with ten round tables filled with numerous guests. He smiled politely and headed straight to Relena's table after spotting her in her blue chiffon dress. "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Peacecraft." He bowed to her parents and remained standing.

"Well hello, Heero," Katrina showed a look of surprise in her eyes to see the transformed young man in front of her.

"Nice to see you again, Heero," the patriarch gestured for him to sit by Relena.

The rest of the guests began their usual chatter again with a couple of sighs coming from a younger group of girls. "That Relena is sure lucky," one of them whispered.

"You have me worried for awhile," she whispered to him.

"Sorry about that...I just needed to get some things straightened out."

"Well you better eat up before the main course comes," she smiled at him.

The hours passed without any other serious engagements between the guests. Some of them came over to Heero and grilled him with some questions, nothing to personal or out in the open. At the head of the onslaught, Martha led the pack in this q and a.

"What do you do for a living?" Her eyes held an investigative look.

"I used to work for my father's firm back in New York."

"I like that...do you plan to have your own practice?"

"One day."

"Are you currently courting someone? Possibly Relena?"

He felt the temperature rise on his face, "No...will you please excuse me?"

"Of course my boy," she smiled happily, though she wanted to another question that focused on the incident.

He looked to where Relena was sitting, "May I have this dance?" He offered her his white-gloved hand.

"I thought you never asked." She could feel his hand pull her towards him. "I see that you survived another round of questions," she smiled at him.

He nodded, "...but I think Martha asked me those questions before it seems."

"She's getting old," she chuckled out loud. "I'm glad you made it tonight," she made sure she kept her distance from his body while they danced for the required waltz.

"How long is this supposed to last?" He noticed that a dozen or so pair of eyes were focused on them.

"Maybe another hour...right until the fireworks are launched," she looked directly into his eyes, as they waltzed around a corner.

* * *

"Eavesdropping are we?" A sly voice came behind her back.

"What's it to you?" She countered back and focused her eyes in front of the dance, eying a particular couple.

"Nothing," he placed his hands in his pockets. His hazel eyes focused on something else. "What brings you here to Winfield? I don't believe you're a regular around here."

"I'm just passing by on some business I need to attend to," she readjusted her position by the window.

"Really?" He walked closer to the female figure, who was crouched beneath a small bush now. "It seem like you're eying someone in particular." He went down to her vantage point and peeped through the window, "Let me take a stab at this...it seems to be you're taken with Heero Yuy." Even in the darkness, he already realized whom he was talking to.

"What's your reason behind your conjecture?" Her eyes flashed a sign of annoyance.

"Let's just say this article..." he wiped a wrinkled parchment from his pockets showing a picture of her and Heero. "And so it seems that are hometown hero has a dark secret brooding from New York."

She was left speechless for a brief period, "How did you find out?" she seethed.

"It's called reading." He grabbed the article from her hands. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." He quickly vanished into a looming fog.

"Where did he go?" She searched into the quiet darkness with its all too familiar sounds. _I didn't even get his name._ She quickly got up from her spot and ran away before anyone spotted her. _Why was he so interested in Heero and me?_ She walked a couple of more minutes before she came upon someone. "Excuse me? Do you know where I can find the Maxwell Residence?"

The elder spoke in a crackling tone, "Um...let's see...from here you follow the road until the fork and take the left side. It'll be the first house on your left."

"Thank you, sir." She began to follow the man's directions and in no time, she was there. Well Heero...it seems like you've made a new life for yourself.

William followed a short path down to the main town square. _So we finally meet, Ms. Sylvia Noventa. It looks like the cards are all laid out now...I couldn't have asked for better timing._

He ventured into the local bar, "Will it be your usual, Nate?" The scruffy bartender called out to him.

The hazel eyed man nodded and before long, two shots of whiskey were in front of him. _Heero, prepare to meet your downfall._ A slight chuckle escaped from him.

"You look chipper than normal." The bartender wiped away a couple of stains from the wooden table.

"I guess it seems like that," he threw a couple of silver pieces to pay for his drink. "I think fate has finally drawn a card I needed."

The bartender went back to washing down the tabletops, "There goes another dreamer...heh...it'll be rubbish in the end anyhow."

Back at the party, the last summer ball was concluding with a barrage of fireworks that lighted the night sky.

"I told you it wasn't going to be bad," she kissed him on his cheek.

"You wouldn't have known," he hugged her closer to him, as they both stared out into the sky away from onlookers.

"I wish this could last forever." She snuggled into his chest and listened to his heartbeat, not even the distant explosions could thwart her hearing.

"Be careful what you wish for," he teased her.

"What are you implying?" She looked at the evening sky.

"It might be granted one day." The two watched the last of the fireworks blast into the night sky.

To her, the silver spectacle represented hundreds of shooting stars and deep in her heart she made one wish that hopefully endured the test of time. "Heero?"

"Hmp...," her voice brought him out of his thought.

"I have something to tell you," she danced around the subject, trying to find the right words. "Never mind...it can wait."

* * *

TBC

What does Relena have to say to Heero? And when will Sylvia make her move along with "Nate?" Until next time...take care, everyone.


	17. Mixed Feelings

Here's another update, hope you all like it. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

* * *

Mixed Feelings

* * *

Sylvia ventured from her small sparse hotel room and entered onto the town's busy streets. It was time for the great migration of families leaving their summer havens and returning to their winter palaces. She never thought that this mass exodus occurred here in this quiet town, but she figured it had some peaceful appeal to it, which brought about the masses from the north every summer. She kept on walking, trying to ignore the flocks of children running about in the morning's chaos. In the nearby distance, she spotted the man that she encountered on that night three weeks ago and her keen eyes saw him enter a local market. Seeing that she might not ever get the chance again, she quickly walked over and spied on the mysterious fellow. She went to the back of the store where the patterned fabrics and dress patterns were on sale and pretended to be interested in them. Once in a while, she glanced up and saw what the gentleman was doing, but before long, he disappeared again.

"May I help you miss?" The storeowner came over to her, hoping that she would purchase something.

"Oh...I was just admiring some of the fabric prints you have," she lied. "I was wondering, who was that gentleman you were talking to a few minutes ago?"

The man looked puzzled for a moment, but realized whom she was referring to, "Oh...you mean Nate?"

"Is that his name?"

"Why of course it is," he laughed. "He came here not too long ago, according to some of the townspeople, he's just a wanderer...though everyone is quite unsure about his past. Though if you ask me personally, I think he's from some upper class family from the east."

"I see." She fingered through another fabric pattern of mystic green, "Are you familiar with the Peacecrafts?"

"Certainly everyone around here knows them." The storeowner eyed some other customers that had entered. "Mrs. Peacecraft usually hosts their summer balls practically every weekend to say the least, while Mr. Peacecraft carries out his political duties back to Newberry. Unfortunately their only daughter, Relena, suffered a terrible accident back in late June in the hands of William Bennett. There's a manhunt for him still, but it seems like he's disappeared entirely." Sylvia kept eyeing the fabric and tested its strength, while the owner kept talking, "I believe she's currently seeing Heero Yuy from what the town's gossiping about."

His words already confirmed what she read in the article back in New York and she asked another question, "Is there a photograph of this William fellow anywhere in town?"

The question stumped the old man, "I'm afraid not. Like I said he's seems to be a ghost now to all of us. From what I could recall, he had hazel eyes and brown hair neatly combed. He also had a medium stature."

The information didn't do any justice for her. To help cut their conversation, she finally made up her mind on the fabric, "I'll take nine yards of this fabric please." She pointed to the mystic green one.

"All right miss, I'll ring this up for you at the front." The owner hopped onto a stool and carefully cut the fabric at the desired length. He decided to strike up another conversation, "So first time in Winfield?"

"Is it that noticeable?" she asked dryly.

"Not that much," he smiled. "It'll be a dollar."

Sylvia handed him the money and took the neatly packaged fabric with her. "Thank you for you help."

"Much obliged, miss. Take care of yourself now."

She headed back to her room at the town's only hotel, but something from the old man's conversation seemed odd. She stared into the medium sized mirror and applied some light makeup to her pale facial features. _It's strange to have William disappear and all of a sudden, for Nate to appear with an unknown past._ The thought teased at her conscience that something wasn't right, but she quickly shoved it away for she was busy with other particular matters at hand. With a quick once over, she stuffed a small pouch under her dress and adjusted the light material around her stomach area. She then headed back onto the town's streets and off in the direction to the Maxwell residence.

A couple of the townsfolk looked up from their afternoon cup of tea and spotted the newcomer. They all felt the air of uneasiness surrounding her. She saw a couple of them whisper to their neighbor's ears, but she didn't want to bother with any of them. From what the storeowner said, she could already see the gossip networks springing back to life in this late summer season, but she didn't care...she only thought of staying long enough to distract Heero.

She continued on walking towards the fork in the road and followed the directions she was given on her first day. In the daylight, the house even looked more splendid to her eyes than at nightfall. She adjusted her dress and proceeded firmly to the door without giving a sign of nervousness and knocked twice on the open screen.

In the darkness of the kitchen, a female figure emerged from the shadows and she looked a little distraught at the sight of Sylvia in front of her. "Can I help you?" Hilde readjusted her apron, trying not to vent her anger out if she found out if Duo was having an affair.

"Um..yes...is this the Maxwell residence?" She fidgeted with her hands.

"Yes it is," she looked cross.

"I'm looking for a Heero Yuy," she said at point blank.

Once the name escaped from the woman's lips, Hilde felt partially relieved that Duo was still true to her, but then when she heard Heero's name, a pang of anger sounded off. "What do you want with him?" She could obviously see that the woman standing in front of her was carrying a child.

"I have some matters that I would like to settle with him...that's all," she said calmly.

Duo emerged from the kitchen after hearing their conversation. The situation looked grim and he couldn't believe his own eyes. He tapped Hilde on her shoulders, "I'll get him."

"What's your name again?" Hilde returned her attention to the woman in front of her.

"Sylvia Noventa."

Duo quickly clamored up the stairs and sought out Heero's room. He didn't know if his friend was in there or not and barged in through the door without even a friendly knock. "Heero," he tried to keep his cool. "There's someone waiting for you at the front door," he roughly said out loud.

"I beg your pardon," the young man stood speechless with his morning paper in his hands.

"Do I have to remind you again?" He went over to his friend and yanked the newspaper out his hands. "What did you do in New York?"

"Like I said...nothing." His eyes flashed with agitation.

"Well obviously the situation doesn't seem like that way," he stammered. "How can you do this to Relena!?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Seeing that his friend wasn't going to calm down anytime soon, he went down to see this mysterious lady. When he reached the last step, his eyes turned towards her and a vague memory slipped into realization.

"Hello, Heero. Remember me?" She still stood outside by the door. "I see you're surprise to see me in my current condition."

He dashed out of the house with her at hand, leaving both Duo and Hilde speechless in the foyer. Memories of the night when he lost his case in New York surfaced again, but this time the images were crystal clear...his anger finally triggered the evidence he needed to clear himself of this compromising situation. "What are you trying to pull here?" He hissed at her. The two now stood behind the barn.

"Why I'm just trying to find my baby's father, that's all," her eyes meet his.

"We didn't even touch."

"Oh contraire, we did kiss at first. You were probably too drunk to remember." She tried moving closer to him. Her slender hands went through her matching purse and she produced a clip of the article with their picture. "See this."

"Get away from me...something isn't right at all," he averted her touch and gave her a cold hard stare.

* * *

"Relena are you sure you'll be fine staying here?" Her mother walked through the first floor of their home, making sure everything was there. "I'll have your winter attire sent to you once I arrive back in Newberry."

"I'm sure. There's nothing really to worry about, I'll be fine," she smiled. "As for my winter attire, I'll just purchase some here in town, mother."

"If you need anything, you just send the word to us." Her father began to lift the massive luggage off the floor.

"I will, father." Her eyes already showed anxiousness for them to leave. "I'll call you every night," she went over to him and kissed him on his forehead.

"All right then, be good and be safe," he gave his only daughter a tight hug after dropping the luggage on the ground. "Come now, Katrina, time to leave." He signaled to his wife, who was already fretting about the situation again. "Come dear, we don't want to cramp Relena's freedom, do we?" He had to practically shove his wife out the door and into the carriage. After she was in the cabin, he signaled Pagan to come over, "Pagan, I want you to stay with Relena if you don't mind. Both Katrina and I would feel much safer if you were here with her."

"But, Sir, what about the work that has to be done back in Newberry?"

"Don't worry about that, we'll manage it somehow. I don't think I'll be staying in the mansion too long. Goodbye Pagan." He gave his faithful butler a firm handshake and then ordered the driver to leave.

Relena watched the carriage drive off to the road she took not more than three months ago. It's strange how time flees in the summer season when love begins to blossom. The September air contained the spell of autumn's chill. "It'll be fall soon," she looked over to Pagan.

"Indeed," he shuffled back into the house. "Well now, I'll be in the kitchen with Trudy," he called back to her.

"All right, you'll know where I'll probably be." She started heading towards the all too familiar home of Duo's. Three weeks had passed since their last meeting under a veil of fireworks. She still hadn't the courage to tell him yet, but with the flurry of activity in her home about her parents' return to Newberry kept her busy in those long twenty-one days. On her sleepless nights, she dwelled on the thought of having a secret rendezvous with him just to clear her mind of what she had to say to him. She yearned to be with him in every waking hour of her life...that's how much he changed her summer. If it weren't for him, her mother would probably be up to her old antics in finding a proper suitor for her by now. The only thing that stopped her from venturing out into the night was the fear of what to actually say to him...she remembered the last time when she invited him to the last dance and became a babbling fool. No, she didn't want to look like an idiot again, and so she let her heart decide when the right time came.

The light breeze played around her, swirling bits of leaves that had already fallen. She thought about her first time seeing Heero in Winfield during their horse incident down in a meadow. There was something about him...it was those deep eyes of his...a mirror of sadness and hidden truths that attracted her. He gave her a way of escaping the falseness splurged from high society. She quickened her steps towards her final destination, never really knowing what was still occurring behind the shadows of the home.

Hilde gazed out from the front door in shock of what was raveling in front of her, "How could he keep this secret for the entire summer?" She clenched her apron in anger for his betrayal.

"Now Hilde, don't jump to conclusions yet." He waved a finger at her, but then he thought about the matter more, "There was something different about him...I noticed in June, but didn't want to press the matter from him. From the looks of it, his trip back to New York must have placed some stress on him." Duo went over to her and grasped her waist, trying to comfort her. "You know how Heero is, he often keeps things to himself."

"You're right, but he should have told someone about it." The thought of seeing her friend being caught in another emotional wave scared her. "I don't want Relena to go through another traumatic experience...it's just not fair for her sake."

"I know," he held Hilde more tightly. All of a sudden he heard gasp, "What's wrong?"

Her eyes shifted over a low ridge and she saw Relena walking up towards the home. "She's coming over here now."

"What?!?"

She replied in a more urgent tone, "She's coming now!" She shifted out of his grasp and untied her apron as fast as she could. She thought a possible diversion, but it was too late. Relena was already at the front steps about to knock on the screen door, before she saw the two standing there.

"Hello Hilde...Duo," the blonde girl smiled happily as ever.

"Hello, Relena," she swallowed hard, trying to pretend that nothing was out of the ordinary. "Please come in," she held the door for her to enter.

"It's awfully quiet this morning."

"Well you can count on that," Duo tried to hide Heero's little engagement for the time being.

"Is Heero around? I need to tell him something and I don't think I can keep it in much longer."

"Don't tell me your..." He felt Hilde elbow his stomach. "Why did you do that for?"

"It's impolite."

Relena felt her face flush, "I'm not if you two were wondering...there's no need for any secrecy here." Right then, Hilde and Duo felt a knot in their throats, and she could tell the two were trying to hide something. "So where's Heero?"

"Um...I think he went to town to pick some groceries up," Duo tried to start the fib and warned Hilde to follow.

"Yes that's right, I was trying to teach Duo to bake using my mother's recipe on chocolate chip cookies," she laughed. "You know how he is," she tapped him on the shoulders, "And how he can only cook fried chicken."

"I see, well I guess it's no use for me to stay around here. I'll just come back some other time."

"We'll make sure that Heero gets your message," Hilde called out.

"Thanks," and with that, she headed down the same path that she came.

Hilde then whispered to Duo, "That was too close."

"I just hope Relena is not within earshot of Heero right now."

Relena couldn't help but feel that the pair was hiding something from her. She started to walk down the long walkway when she heard someone shouting behind the barn. Instinct knew that it was Heero's voice. She decided to check the situation out on her own and veered towards the barn without being seen from Duo's and Hilde's vantage point.

"Don't you deny that this baby isn't yours," Sylvia cried out loud. Her words stung Relena' senses and immobilized her for a moment. She placed her hands over her mouth, just to keep in the scream that wanted to slip out. With the conversation, she saw her dream of being with him shatter into a thousand jagged pieces and that each piece pierced her fragile heart.

"I may have been drunk, but that is all." He held a firm grasp on his position. "Your picture just shows us in a moment in time," he said harshly. "What are you really trying to accomplish here?" He moved furiously over to the blonde and stared her down, piercing through her façade of falseness and this charade. "Why are you so desperate in trying to get my attention?"

Her lips quivered and she knew he couldn't be fooled any longer. She made one desperate futile attempt, "This baby is yours," she screamed in front of his face with all of her feelings and emotions, trying to make the innate object that lied over stomach seem real.

Relena couldn't stand the conversation anymore and bolted from the barn's security. The hot tears coursed without bounds and she ran with all of her might, ignoring Heero's demands for her to stay. She didn't want to be with him and she just kept on running deeper into the foreboding forest.

Heero returned his attention back to Sylvia, "I'll make this clear one more time, this child is not mine," his teeth clenched in anger and he forced her towards a tree. And in frustration, he slammed his fists beside her and sent her to her knees. Her heart raced for her own life and she felt the strap around her stomach loosening, she tried desperately to conceal it. Heero saw her fidgeting behind her back and grabbed her by the arm. He saw the bag fall to the grassy ground, "You have some explaining to do," his monotone voice haunted her.

She grasped the bark for support, as she felt Heero's eyes hone in on her confession, "You ruined my life!" Her words stung him. She started to rant off, "If it weren't for you being drunk and all and that reporter, I could have remained anonymous to the public, but no, it wasn't that way was it," she seethed at him. "The stories kept coming and the reporters wouldn't let up...claiming that I was your mistress, I had to leave my job," she slapped him in the face and his eyes became clouded. "I needed some compensation for this farce and by chance, I read an article about you here in this forsaken place and I had to come."

He listened attentively and knew something still didn't add up, "Why were you so aggressive in trying to make me think this baby was mine?" His eyes taunted her for another explanation.

She looked directly into his eyes, "Three weeks ago, I spied on you and Relena Peacecraft at the final summer ball. A man named, Nate, approached me and he knew about this picture of us. He seemed interested that I distract you."

"What did he look like?"

"How should I know?" She countered his question. "This town seems to be less keen on physical descriptions as compared to relationships." She saw Heero offer his hand in helping her get off the ground, but she brushed him aside. "If you don't need anymore information, I'm leaving now." Before Heero had a chance to speak, she gathered her belongings and started to head towards the main road.

"Wait!" He shouted after her. "Look, I'm sorry for my own mistakes."

She froze in her steps. His words were something she didn't expect at all in coming on this trip from New York. She didn't think that he was remorseful, but his words were true to her. She then remembered Relena running away from them just minutes before and now feelings of guilt clung to her own heart. "I'm sorry too. I didn't want to hurt her...I can be stubborn in trying to accomplish things."

Heero didn't know what else he could do, but he reached into his back pocket and pulled several bills from his billfold and gave her the money. "Here take it."

"I can't," she refused his money.

"I know it isn't much, but it's a start. I'm the one at fault for this entire mess. Please take it." He saw that she was still refusing to take his money and so he grabbed her purse and placed the bills in it. With that, he escorted her back to the main road and headed back to Duo and Hilde, who were both watching from the windows. He walked into the home, but the pair gave him the cold shoulder and he knew he deserved it. Right then he decided to break the icy silence between him and them, "Look I made a mistake back in New York and I thought it would remain buried there."

"So you're just running away from your past then, aren't you Heero?" Duo's tone flared with anger.

"You don't understand, my father kicked me out from the practice after he saw a picture of me kissing a barmaid appeared in a paper and not because I lost in a high profile case." He stared out the window, not wanting to see the reaction coming from his longtime friend.

Duo began to put two and two together and realized that the woman that came in the late morning was the barmaid. "You don't have to explain any further, if you don't want to."

Heero ignored his friend's last request and figured he should clear his name once and for all, "She wanted to blackmail me with a false pregnancy, but she had a change of heart once she saw Relena fleeing away." His hands fell to his pockets and he just gave a blank stare. He knew he needed to find her before she did anything drastic, "I messed up," he fell down to a seat.

Hilde walked over to his side, "If you tell her what you just told us, I'm sure she'll understand everything." She patted him on his shoulders and urged him to go after her now.

"You better listen to Hilde now or else," Duo went up to his friend's side.

With no more words said, he bolted through the front door and headed towards the Peacecraft mansion, in hopes that he would find her there. He ran through the shortcut, not taking care of what his attire might look like after getting tangled with some prickly bushes. He clamored up the stairs and knocked on the door. _Please be here._

Pagan answered the door and was shocked to see the young man standing there, "Hello Heero, I thought Relena was supposed to be with you."

"She's not here?" His eyes grew alarmed and knew he had a bigger problem on his hands.

"She said she was going to visit you this morning," the old man began to worry about his young charge. And before he could say anything else, he saw Heero bolt down the stairs and around the corner of the house.

"Where are you Relena?" He clenched his teeth as he ran through another set of underbrush and he hoped that she would be there. The lake looked bare in the late summer season, the summer heat dried out the surrounding area and now the trees were priming themselves for their final dance before winter's touch. "Relena!" He screamed, but there was no response. He felt his whole world collapsing before him and he knew he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. "Relena!" His second scream echoed across the surrounding area and startled a flock of sparrows nearby, sending them into the late afternoon sky. Right then, he felt a single teardrop fall on his cheek and collapsed onto the sandy shore, realizing that it was the first time he cried in a long while. He cursed to the blood-ridden sky and made a vow to find her, even if took his last breath.

Far off in the distance, Relena thought she heard someone call out her name, but she figured it was her mind playing tricks on her. She walked a few more steps before finding a log to sit on to collect her thoughts. "Why would he betray me like that? It's not like him." Her tears continued to flow down her cheek. She looked to the distant horizon and a splash of red splayed across the abstract sky as if heaven was feeling her pain and anger. She watched the transitions slowly seep from the west and soon twilight engulfed her surroundings. The calm tranquility numbed her senses and she remained there for a little while unsure of where she should head next.

A voice echoed from behind her, "Lost are you?"

* * *

TBC

A/N: Well I'm off to my spring semester now (filled with more exams including the MCAT)...I know I left at a very crucial moment, but if you want to know when I'll post a new chapter, just send me an e-mail and I'll be more than happy to respond. I would I like give a big thanks to my reviewers for their comments and continual support. : -)

sweetangel4

Pure Angel Enchantress

Ladybug

Sakura123

Wing

Haruya

Will there be a second repeat of what happened by the lake again? Will Heero make it in time to reconcile with Relena? Stay tune and please review...thank you. As always, take care everyone!


	18. A Shot in the Dark

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

* * *

A Shot in the Dark

* * *

"Not really," she tried to put up a barrier between this stranger and her. She felt the log sink lower into the ground and noticed he sat on the opposite edge.

"Here, it looks like you need this." He offered her a handkerchief.

"Thank you." She dried her eyes out on the soft fabric. "What's your name?"

"Nate," a sly smile appeared on his hidden features.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is..."

"I know who you are, Ms. Relena Peacecraft." His tone changed into a more mysterious level that sent chills up and down her spine.

She was taken aback to hear her name coming from a total stranger outside of Winfield. "I better be leaving now," she got up from the log and dusted off her dress. "Um...here's your handkerchief back." Nate took the fabric and kept it in his shirt pocket. She sensed that this man wasn't an ordinary fellow and started to walk back towards her home. She figured that it would take her a good hour to get back home from where she stood. Earlier events of Heero begging her to stay played over and over again in her confused mind, she regretted not giving him the chance to explain, but at the same time she didn't want to know at all from the given images she saw of the mysterious woman that stood in front him. She cursed to the stars with raised hands, "Why me?" The sounds of her torment rained around her, but they didn't warrant the stranger to stay away. "Why are you still following me?" Her voice became cautious.

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right. It seems you're distressed about something." His hazel eyes flashed with a spark of victory. "If you like, I can walk you home."

"I can manage, thank you," she called back to him, but she continued to hear the swishing of grass coming from behind her. She didn't recall him telling her his full name, "What is your full name?"

"Oh, its Nate N. Witillemb, miss." He continued to track her from behind, unsure if Relena realized his true identity.

Realizing that she couldn't ditch Nate anytime soon, she decided to make a light conversation with him. "How do you spell your last name? I never really heard anything of the sort before."

He cleared his throat, "W-I-T-I-L-L-E-M-B."

She nodded in response and continued on her journey home, minding her own business. She heard Nate still following her in the early twilight darkness and kept her own thoughts to herself. His name played over in her mind and the sound of it just seemed awkward to be anything of its time. The syllables sounded off in her head and somehow William's name popped into her head. _I wonder..._ She began scrambling the random letters of his full name and took out the ones that spelled William, which left her seven remaining letters. After going through random placements of the letters, she at first came up with Tebennt and all sorts of absurd names. Then it finally hit her with full force...the name Bennett splurged onto her mind's alert system. The full name sent her nerves onto the edge and she didn't want "Nate" to think that she was onto to him. She couldn't scream for help if she wanted to, no one would have heard her for miles unless raccoon hunters were out in droves.

"Something wrong?" He spied from behind her.

"It's nothing," she forced a white lie. _I wish Heero was here right now._ She looked to see how visible the path was in front of her and with the dimming light, it was getting harder to see any tree stumps that may be hidden in the dense underbrush. _What did I get myself into now?_ She began to quicken her pace, fearing for her own life and she wanted to get away from the monster, whom nearly ruined her summer. For every foot she made, he seemed to sense that she knew something was wrong and doubled his own steps. "Get away from me!"

"Why are you in such a hurry now?" His voice taunted her. "It seems like you remember something."

"Get away from me, William!" She squatted down and threw a fistful of dirt at him when he tried grabbing her arms. With that, she ran into the dense brush and tried to keep out from his sights. Her bright dress didn't do any justice in camouflaging her in the fauna.

William scanned with his hazel eyes trying to spot his obsession, "My plan of driving Heero Yuy away from you worked after all." He paused briefly, "By the looks of your tears, you saw an interesting revelation and now it seems that our hometown hero will go with her back to New York."

She covered her ears, trying to keep his venomous words from entering her conscience. _He's the one that started all of this again._ She shifted her position and noticed she was getting closer to home. The familiar scent of the lake drifted towards her, but she could tell she still had a long ways to go. "Someone should end your misery," she muttered.

"I hear you, Relena," his voice was even more taunting than before, almost to a psychotic state. He started to hit random spots with a large branch, hoping to scare his victim out into the opening.

* * *

Heero burst into Duo's home and startled him out of his armchair. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Relena's in danger...Pagan didn't see her come home after this morning." He was trying to catch his breath. "William is back." His chilling voice warned that danger was imminent.

"I thought that man left town for good," his eyes looked shocked.

"It has something to do with this Nate guy that Sylvia saw," Heero paced around the house looking for something that could be of use. He went over to the mantle and ripped the rifle off its stand. "I'm going to borrow this."

"Who's Nate?" Duo was a few seconds behind in Heero's conversation. "I've never seen the guy."

"There's no time to explain. I need you to get a search party ready to find Relena." His monotone voice commanded.

He was then distracted with Heero holding his family's heirloom, "Hey be careful with that!"

"Don't forget, Duo," he shouted back and before long, the darkness enveloped his figure.

Without another second wasted, Duo complied to Heero's request and took one of his horses into town at a full canter. He alerted the sheriff about William's reappearance, which shocked the authoritarian figure, "How did ya know that he's back?"

"He's under another name...Nate...according to my friend. We need to round up a group of men to find Relena Peacecraft before William does." He tried to catch the sheriff up on the issue. Before he could say anymore words, the town's bells were ringing of the impending situation and a group of men from the bar emerged along with a couple of bystanders from the stores. They all knew what that sound meant and they gathered their pistols and rifles along with their horses, waiting for their orders. The sheriff waited on the front porch steps of the jailhouse to announce the news.

"What's going on now?" One semi-drunken man asked, "I was in a middle of a darn good poker game." Soon others asked the same question with irritation of their own. They didn't like that someone or something was disturbing their evening's routines.

The sheriff addressed the small group, "William Bennett's back in town now and he's after Relena Peacecraft." A silent wave swept over the group and he continued, "Some of you may have seen him under the name, Nate. We need to find him now, he's a danger to her and to this town." He went through the group and divided them into groups of five. "I want all the grounds to be searched and if you find him, sound off your guns for help. And if he runs, shoot him down."

With the last command said, the groups parted heading in all possible directions in covering as much ground as possible.

"Did you hear that, Lu?" Milliardo looked up from his paper. "Something's wrong." His blue eyes narrowed. "It's way too quiet now."

"The bells were ringing just a moment ago," she cradled their infant son in her arms. She looked out into the evening and didn't see anything peculiar. The toddler picked at her hands and started to cry, "Shhh...dear."

Milliardo hurried his family into the confines of their home without a moment to spare, "I want you to stay inside and don't open to anyone unless you recognize them." He grabbed a small pistol from his dresser drawer, "Here take this," he handed the metallic weapon to her. "I'm going to see what's happening."

"Wait, Milliardo," she called out to him, but he was already on his horse. She whispered after him, "Please be careful," and bolted the door. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

He rode down onto one of the side roads and saw a group of five men searching in the distance. He called out to them, "Why were the bells ringing?"

The storeowner was part of the pack and replied, "William Bennett's in town somewhere. We heard that Relena Peacecraft is missing and she's in danger."

"Much obliged," and with that, he went out on his own search for the renegade man that nearly destroyed his sister's memories. "You're mine, Bennett." His eyes fired with anger and he wanted to find the bastard soon. Instinct told him to revisit the site of where the first attack took place, but he feared it was just a shot in the dark. The manpower he saw back there seemed futile in trying to catch William. He kicked onto the sides of his horse and darted towards the far side of the lake, hoping there was a clue to where Relena was.

* * *

Relena crawled further into the forest, trying to hide herself from William's sight. She knew she was getting closer to the lake, but she didn't want her position to be revealed to her former suitor. She leaned against a tree and looked towards the direction she crawled from, a silhouette shadow danced in the fog and she knew William was getting closer. Seeing that this was her only chance of getting away from his grasp, she got up and ran. Sounds of running footsteps were behind her, but she couldn't see where he was. Just when she was in the clearing, she felt her right foot falling into a shallow grove and with it, her entire body fell onto the soft earth. She immediately covered her mouth to keep the scream from coming out. The pain intensified as she shifted her foot out of the ditch and she knew it was a clean fracture. _This can't be happening now._ She tried shifting her body weight, but it was no use...she knew he would catch up to her in a matter of minutes. A few yards away from her, she saw a giant oak tree that had a trunk wide enough to shield her from the main road. With a deep a breath in, she summoned the last bit of strength in moving there and it wasn't a moment too soon. Just when she leaned against the cool bark, she heard his footsteps. Her heart pounded over a thousand times and she thought he could hear her.

"Blast that woman!" He darted from the side to side of the road, trying to find clues to her whereabouts.

She closed her eyes trying to block out his image of madness. This isn't what she had in mind of closing her summer...a summer where she wanted to spend with Heero. The pain from her right ankle started intensifying again and her body went rigid. She clasped onto her dress and squeezed it hard in hopes of trying to forget the pain. Behind the tree, she could still hear him batting at bushes randomly.

"We can play this game all night if we have to," his sinister voice echoed. The cool evening fog started enclosing around the area and he decided to move somewhere else hoping to snag her later on.

The hours passed and she felt a shiver run down her spine. By now, the fog was too dense for her to recognize any familiar landmarks. She tried her best in peering out into the white maze and saw a few evergreens nearby and decided to make her way there. With the threat of William still around, she needed to find a safe haven, but where? The fear inside her mind kept encouraging her to move on...she needed to make it through this night to make amends with Heero. She walked a couple of more feet and found another tree trunk to rest on. The scent of the lake drifted ever closer to her now and she knew she was closer to home. Right then, her hopes lifted and she let out a sigh of relief. "Home..."

"I don't think so."

Her blue widened and he spun around facing the tree and saw a figure behind it. And before she had anytime to react, William caught her hand and twisted it around the tree. "Let me go," she clawed at his hands. "HELP!" Her voice cracked the silence...

Milliardo heard the distant cry and knew it was her...he rode his horse to the direction of where her cry rang, but couldn't find her. "Relena!" He cantered a few more yards on his horse, "Where are you?"

"You're not going to answer to that now," William gagged her with a loose cloth. She bit back at his hand and he screamed in horror. "Wench!" He slapped her in the face and the force knocked her to the ground.

Milliardo continued to scan the area and honed in his hearing on the scream. He narrowed his search down to a thick grove of trees and entered the area. In front of him, he heard muffled curses coming from a man. He forced his horse further on and before long he came upon the suspect. "William!" His blue eyes fired with rage and he drove his horse forward to the man that nearly destroyed Relena's life, "You're mine!"

William got out of the way from the raging horse and found a large branch. He braced himself for the next wave of attacks coming from the blonde man and this time he charged at the horse. With a quick move, he jabbed the horse from below and sent the beast reeling into the air along with its rider.

Relena watched in horror as it threw her brother off his stead, "Zechs!" She ran up to him and noticed he wasn't waking up. "Wake up, you have to...you can't leave Lu and the baby...and you CAN'T leave me!" she shook him roughly. She felt her body being pulled back, "Get away from me...you murderer!"

"You're coming with me," he punched her in the stomach and fell limp onto his hands. "You're mine from now and forever," he whispered into her ears. He carried her to a nearby thicket, away from Milliardo's body.

* * *

Heero peered through the dense fog, trying to ascertain his location. He heard an earlier scream and tried to pin the source. _This is not a good day for hunting._ The muffled sounds came straight towards him and he raised the barrel for caution. His finger was set on the trigger, but then he withdrew once he heard the figure collapse a few yards away from him. To his amazement, he found a horse lying in the pasture with a deep gash wound to its front. From that point on, he knew that it was William's doing. There was nothing he could do for the poor creature, but he waited there and added some pressure to its wound. He looked around to gauge his surroundings again and figured he was close to the far northeastern part of the lake...away from the town for sure.

He patted on the horse's side and walked off in hopes of finding her in this mess. He found a clearing and instead found Milliardo lying on his back, barely breathing. For the past several months, he knew that they weren't on the same terms with one another, even though he saved his sister's life. It was all becoming clearer now...the horse and now him. "Where is she?" He lifted the man from the ground.

"It figures you'll show up," a slight trickle of blood ran down on the sides of his mouth. "He took her...not too sure where." A violent cough raged through his body and more blood spilled out.

"Hold on, Zechs." He scrambled to prop the man onto a mount of dirt.

"Relena only called me that," he frowned at his own weakness. "Get out of here, you're wasting time." He ordered the young man away and pushed him when he got too close in assessing his wounds. "I'll be fine! A fall won't kill me."

Heero backed off for a second and knew how stubborn he could get. He saw Zechs's pistol next to him and fired the weapon the three times into the open air. "Help's coming."

"You fool...I could have used those myself." He took his weapon back and reloaded the barrel, not caring of his own fatal injuries.

"Not tonight, you won't. I'll find her." He darted into the darkness again just when the sounds of riders came towards their way.

"He sure has some nerve..." He tried hard to fight the wave of unconsciousness. A few voices drifted over him trying to get his attention, even his eyesight was starting to fade.

One of the men shouted, "We need to get him back to the town now."

"What about William?" A young thirteen-year-old boy called from the rear. Somehow Milliardo followed their conversation and mumbled Heero's name out into the open and relapsed back into a deep sleep.

"We don't need to worry about him as of now," the leader turned around his horse and headed back to town with Milliardo being carried on a spare horse.

* * *

The sounds of water trickling down woke Relena from her mild slumber. She blinked a couple of times to get used to the dark surroundings and found her hands bound behind her back. She squirmed around trying to break the thick ropes.

"You're finally awake." William sat next to her and stared intently into her soft blue eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" She commanded an answer.

"You're the one I truly love." He raised his hand and moved her hair away from her face.

"You've gone mad! Get away from me, you monster!" She spat into his face. "You brought this upon yourself...that woman was right for leaving you."

"No one ever makes me the laughing stock, you hear," he seethed. His eyes went into a new level of madness.

"So this is all about your pride then? Isn't it?" She decided to remain firm on her position. "You'll always be the scoundrel here, no matter what you do."

"Why you!" He grabbed her by the neck and forced her body against the moss- covered wall.

She felt his hold tightening and forced a few more words, "You can kill me," and took another breath in, "He'll still find you."

"It's him...always him...arrgh." He released his grip for a second and watched her struggle for air. "Why can't it be ME?"

She coughed violently, "He'll be a far better man...than you." Her last words riled the former suitor even further and she knew it worked.

"Get up now," he barked at her and she clamored onto her feet, nearly tripping on her dress. He led her further down an unknown path covered with small vegetation and propped her against a tree. "No one will hear you now...scream for all I care." He took something out of his back pocket and removed the cover from it. The silver blade flashed in the rare moonlight.

"Help!" She screamed with fear for her life.

"Like I said...no one will hear your cries," a menacing smile appeared on his face.

The blade hovered over her left shoulder and she winced, bracing what his next step might be. "Heero, I'm sorry," tears started to trickle down her cheeks. She felt his cold hands pin her down against the tree, as she struggled against his grip.

"He won't come." He started caressing her face and a stole a kiss from her.

His words stung like poison and they lured her into a stupor of depression. She felt the despair creeping into her heart. _He'll come...he has to._ "Heero!" Her scream shattered the utter silence, alarming everything in its path.

William had enough hearing his opponent's name, "Be quiet now!" He roughly grabbed her this time and flung her to the ground. He flashed the blade in front of her, "Or I'll have to use this on you."

She sniffled, taken aback for a minute, "Go ahead use it!" She watched William poise the metal above her and waited for the slash that could end her life. She closed her eyes and doted on the memories with Heero to see her through the end. "You'll never have my heart, William."

"Say good night now." He held the knife right above her chest.

BANG

William cried in pain as he felt the knife slip away from his hands, landing only inches away from Relena's body. He looked towards the origin and noticed a cloud of smoke.

"Let her go, William. Game over," The voice was cold and distant. His Prussian eyes stared through the constant eyehole, noting any sudden movements of his intended target.

"That's what you may think," his eyes narrowed. Realizing that Relena was just below him, he grabbed her and used her body as a shield.

"Coward." His eyes narrowed, but his finger still held onto the trigger.

"What are you going to do now, Yuy?" A questionable look was raised on the pale man's face. "Going to shoot her?" He held a tighter grip around Relena's neck, as she tried to gasp for air.

She struggled against him, "Shoot him, Heero! Just shoot him!" The request was absurd to him at the very moment...the words cascaded down through his conscience and he couldn't deal with it. He didn't want to...to kill the woman he loved. Mixed emotions tumbled through his muscles and his body froze...trying to receive the signal that would make everything right.

Her eyes pleaded with his to complete her last wish. The cerulean spheres also held the apology she wanted to say to him but couldn't. She didn't want this madness to continue any further and she continued to stare into own eyes, hoping that he would understand. "I love..." She felt pressure against her vocal cords and chocked back on the last syllables.

"So what's it going to be?" His voice taunted him at his weakness of falling in love with Relena.

"You leave me no choice," Heero steadied the barrel and locked onto the final target.

* * *

TBC

How will this standoff end? Will Heero's aim be true or will fate play an awful game, tearing our favorite couple apart? Stay tuned. Thanks for reading and please review...thank you.

I would like to thank my following reviewers...I can't say this enough, but thank you for your comments and well wishes. You guys are the best.

lidevg

Wing

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AnimeSiren

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perfect solderX24

Sakura123

Ladybug

Yami

Sailor J-chan Luna Weasley


	19. Final Act

Hey everyone, here's the second to last chapter! It's been a long time coming. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

* * *

Final Act

* * *

"Someone get Sally!" one of the riders entering the town shouted. "A man fell off from his horse." 

The women and some of the elderly remained at their windows and doors, just hoping to see that their own loved ones were alive. A couple of children scampered to their mothers' sides to see the rare sight, but were met with hands ushering them back to bed. "There's nothing to see," was the same reply in about each household with curious children.

A light went on the town's clinic and Sally came out in her nightgown with her hair tied up anyway she could. "Where is he?"

"Back there, miss."

She ran to the main town square and found the group taking Zechs off the horse. "Get out of my way," and forced herself through a bunch of onlookers. "Milliardo," a shocked look glazed on her face.

"We meet again, though the circumstances could have been better." he chuckled. "I'm perfectly fine, just bumps and bruises."

"We'll see about that," she eyed him cautiously and added pressure to his abdominal area. Milliardo took a deep breath in. "Well and you were saying?" She continued to apply pressure to the area over his sides, "You're not allowed to move for several days...you cracked a rib by the looks of it." She was about to get up from his side when a hysterical Noin came towards them.

"What in the world were you thinking, Zechs!" She cradled their son in her arms. "You could have gotten yourself killed and left this baby without a father," and glared at him. Everyone backed away from her, knowing she could become more violent if she had the chance.

"I know, but I had to help her...she's still out there, Lu." His words diffused her temper. "You can call me an idiot if you like."

"That might help...but you're my idiot husband," and kissed him on his forehead. "You better listen to Sally now."

"Hmph," trying to ignore his wife's demands. As the two were being escorted to the clinic, more onlookers surged onto the porches of the town's streets, waiting to hear if the madman was apprehended or not...they were all holding their breaths.

Hilde had finally made her way to the town square to see what the fuss was all about, earlier in the night she had heard the large bronze bells tolling in the quiet night. She was looking for someone particularly and caught one of his violet eyes. "What's going on Duo?"

"I don't know quite that much, but I hear William's back in town," his hands were in his pockets. He nodded his head towards Milliardo's and Lu's direction, "Relena's brother just came back...took a big fall off his horse from William." A fearful gasp escaped from his girlfriend.

"Is Relena all right?" She began to panic.

"We don't know yet." His brow became furrowed. "Something's not adding up," a crease became even more prominent. "I'm going out."

"What? Are you insane? There's a madman loose," she snapped at him, trying to bring some sense into her boyfriend.

"Heero's out there and he needs my help." Right by him, he saw someone armed with a rifle and took it from the bystander, making sure that he would return afterwards. "I'll be back, just wait for me okay?" She froze in her spot, not knowing if she should let him go. Duo walked her way and kissed her lightly on top of her forehead, "Don't worry."

* * *

His eyes grew colder with every passing second and this was it. Flashes of their moments together flew at a rapid rate and he didn't want them to disappear. Various scenarios played out and each one kept returning the image of her dying in his arms. He tried shaking them out of his head, but no matter how hard he shook, the dream that haunted him before manifested itself again. Could it be that all this time, it was a true sign of foreshadowing their destinies? _I won't let it happen_. He saw her pantomimed words...the feeling violently settled to the pit of his stomach with every fiber twitching at the madman for making him choose in this cruel twisted game of his. No, this had to be the last stand to rid him once and for all. The metallic trigger felt cold to his index finger and his breathing was becoming unsteady. "Focus...focus." 

The beads of sweat pierced his outer skin layers and the cool liquid dripped down his temple and crossed under his chin. His Prussian eyes focused on her...he never knew how calm she could be in a state of terror. An earlier conversation with her somehow seeped into his inner thoughts, "Heero," her sweet voice drifted.

"Hm," he kept his eyes closed, as he was enjoying the shade's comfort. "What is it?"

She looked out into the lake, ignoring the light's reflections. "What would you do if William came back?"

"I would shoot him." He replied curtly. "Why do you ask?" Realizing that something was on her mind, he rose up from his lying position.

"Well you see...um...what happens if he takes me away?" A shiver went down her spine. "And you were forced to make a decision...to kill him or save me. What would you do?" She held her hand over eyes, trying to keep the blinding light away, but in essence she wanted to hide her reaction from him. He thought long and hard on her question, never realizing that it could possibly come true. He was about to answer, "Never mind that," she interrupted him. "I want you to promise me this, Heero...I want you to kill him if you have to, even if he's using me as a hostage." She clenched her fists on her sides, and directed her crystal blue eyes at him. "Please, promise..."

Seeing her plea for her wish, made him feel the need of protecting her more. A conflict of feelings and selfishness in him waged a battle, "I can't kill you!" He tore away from her eyes, noticing that she still was begging him to promise. "I just can't."

"Heero, please...a simple yes...would be enough." She egged him on, hoping to get a response. "He's still out there...just waiting for the right time...even if my memories of him are gone."

It was no use trying to fight against her, no matter how much he argued, he knew she wouldn't give up. "I promise," and took her in his arms, trying to forget this promise...he didn't want to kill the woman he loved.

"Thank you." His mind returned back to them. To William, he looked like a frozen statue, still believing that the man in front of him would shoot. "I remember, Relena."

His words traveled towards her and she felt their truth in them. "I knew I could count on you," and she steadied herself what could be her last breath. She took one more look at her first true love...the man that changed her summer forever.

_I can't fail now_. Years of practicing on shooting tin cans and hunting fowl were on the line now...he steadied the barrel.

BANG

The shattering sound ricocheted in the dark evening, awakening sleepy dwellers to a rude awakening. It was the moment of truth, he waited for the gray cloud to dispel in the cool air. What seemed like minutes felt like a thousand years to him, "Relena!" He charged through the vapor, refusing to give into his worst nightmare.

A small hoarse voice caught his attention, "I'm over here." To his amazement, he found her lying among some tall grasses on her side. "I knew you would make the right choice," she dazed up at him with the shot still ringing in her ears.

"Are you hurt?" He searched to see if there were any wounds on her. "Is this your blood?" He pointed to a patch above her right shoulder.

She swatted his hands away, "I'm fine...honestly...it's not mine. I only have a twisted ankle that's all." She shifted awkwardly and leaned on a small log when he wasn't looking. "He's around here still."

"Hn...it figures for him to sneak away." He reloaded the barrel with another heavy bullet and sat next to her. "Never make me do that again, you hear me." Before anymore words were said, he couldn't control his urge to kiss her and their lips met for the first time in a long while.

"I won't," she smiled meekly and kissed him again. "I'm sorry for not giving you the benefit of the doubt." She tried to apologize even more, but he hushed her...savoring their moment of togetherness in this chaotic night. "But..."

"Not now, it can wait later," he continued to kiss her, not caring what the night could bring. "I missed you." His strong arms enclosed her into a tight embrace and she didn't protest at all, releasing a sigh of relief. "We should be heading back now. William could be long gone from now, if he knows what's right for him."

"He might be," she adjusted one of the loose sleeves on her dress.

"Let me help you with that." The sleeve clung uselessly to her side, but he managed to knot it to keep it from falling off. At that moment, he noticed the bruises over her neck and gently caressed the area with his fingers, feeling her muscles trembling under his touch. "Does that hurt?"

"A little," the tingling feeling from his touch sent shivers throughout her body.

"It's going to be all right," he stared intently into her eyes. "I found your brother awhile ago. He's going to make it."

"I'm so relieved. I thought William killed him for sure." Tears began to fall to the ground. "It's happening again."

"Shhh now...it's all right." He pulled her into his arms, comforting her. "It's going to be fine," caressing her long honey blonde hair. "I'll still be your Pegasus, no matter what and I'm taking you away."

"I'm all yours then." Her dreamy eyes looked towards the stars. "Don't ever let me go." She felt his arms enclose her ever more and she could feel his heartbeat. The winds began to shift and it blew a few strands of her hair all around, the two stood there in the changing darkness. "Did you hear that?"

"Hm," Heero didn't take her eyes off of her, "What?"

"I thought I heard something out there," the fear was growing inside of her, "like a trigger being pulled back." Her eyes darted to where they last sat and the weapon was gone. "Heero, the riffle! It's missing." Right then, they knew the scoundrel had made his way back to them.

Heero's eyes darted to the nearby bushes. _How can I leave the rifle by itself?_ Something ruffled close to him, "Get down now, Relena!" He ran by her and pushed to the ground without a moment to lose. Within seconds, the bullet lodged itself into a scarred tree trunk. "Stay down...it's too dangerous for you to move." He peeped above the grass line and saw nothing again. "Just wait right here."

"Please be careful."

"I will." He slithered his way into the darkness, being mindful not to let William know where Relena was. "I know you're out there, William," he shouted. "I'm here all alone...leave Relena out of this."

An evil laughed escaped from the underbrush, "Feh...she'll always be mine." Sounds of reloading came over to Heero. "Once your gone, I'll have her." He fired one shot and missed his target.

"You're a miserable shot," snorted Heero. "From the looks of it, you're almost out of bullets," trying to invoke a response from him. He was about to duck towards the cover of another tree, but was met sideways with a sharp metallic object. _Beginner's luck...here goes nothing_. The run to the next tree over left him wide open for anything and he knew William was gunning for him.

Relena peered through the grasses and heard the random shots being fired, "What does he think he's doing?" The anxiety of not knowing if he was hurt or not just kept building inside her, she managed to pull herself up, ignoring the pain in her ankle. With every step she took, her spirits rose in trying to meet Heero. She didn't care if she disobeyed his orders, she wanted to be with him.

"Where are you running to, Yuy?" William revealed his location and had the long barrel aimed at his opponent. "Not so strong now, are you?" He kept driving the young man towards an enclosed area of tangled bushes. "You're trapped now."

"Why don't you fight like a man and drop that rifle." Heero stared the insane man down, trying to buy him some time to find an escape route.

"Or why don't I shoot you now?" He raised the barrel and without a single look again, he pulled the trigger.

"Heero!" The unexpected scream startled him. Relena ran with all her might towards her lover, her eyes wide with what the outcome could be, but she didn't want his death to be caused by her. Her hands reached out towards him and she pushed him out of the way. At that moment, her head jerked back in shock as the projectile tore through her flesh.

"But why?" His eyes grew in horror and he caught her before she collapsed onto the ground. "Relena, stay with me...come on hang in there. Don't you dare leave me now!" There was no reply from her. He noticed the change in her body color was becoming gradual, "NO!" He cried to the skies, "You can't take her, not now." He hugged her body against his, her blood mixing with his own clothes, staining the perfect white to the scarlet hue. "Look what have you done, Bennett!" With emotions running madly, he lunged at the mad suitor and threw him to the ground.

"I didn't know, honestly." William's eyes were shocked in their own right. Somehow the spell of madness lifted from him, but to Heero, he was still a murderer and a madman. "I didn't know!"

"You knew what you were doing all along," he grunted coldly and held Bennett by the neck. "Give me one good reason, why I shouldn't kill you."

The brown haired man was dumbfounded and looked blank at him. Seeing that this was a perfect opportunity to get away, he played on the situation. "Are you being generous...hah...if it weren't for me...you two would have never met." He felt the pressure off his neck and sprung at the moment to claw at Heero, forcing him to fall backwards. "Don't you dare mistake me for the fool," and kept his right foot over his competitor's chest with pressure increasing every second.

Anger fired in his eyes, "Why you bastard!" The two started their hand-to-hand combat and the two of them were dead even in their tactics. The terrain beneath the men became rocky all of sudden with jagged rocks scattered about. "Had enough?" Heero had the upper hand in blocking William's relentless attacks to his torso.

"I'm just warming up," he spat out some blood and started another round of punches, forcing Heero backwards in his steps. One of the smaller rocks gave away under his foot, and he stumbled onto the ground. His eyesight faded in and out with a terrible pain in his temples. "Looks like I win," he was playing with a fist-sized rock in his hands. "It's a shame." Heero heard William's voice being muffled and he saw a faint object in his hands. But then, everything happened so fast that he didn't know what happened. The sight of William froze for a second...him standing with a look of defeat on his face and his eyes wide-eyed with despair. The man's last breath was slow and slurred, "I...I could of...had...it all," and collapsed onto Heero. The rock in his hands barely missed his own head.

"You all right, buddy?" Duo slapped him a couple of times to get his unconscious friend awake. "Hey you in there?"

To his amazement, he was shocked to see his chestnut haired friend there. "What...are you doing here?" his monotone voice was back.

"I'm here to save you, that's what." He went over to his other rifle, "You're lucky to be alive."

Heero looked to his side and found William pale as a ghost...a shot in the back finally did him in. "Thanks." The pain in his temples didn't go away, but he ignored them anyway, "I need to get back to Relena."

"You need to stay put," pulling his friend to stay in one place.

"Let go of me, she's in danger," he glared, "I'm sorry I have to do this," and grabbed Duo's riffle and bunted him in the head. The run back to Relena tortured him, the sights of dead people didn't suit him and he so desperately wanted her to be alive. "Please hold on, I'm coming for you," he whispered under his breath. After running through the underbrush of what the fog finally revealed, he found her still lying on the ground, barely breathing. He nudged right beside her, "Relena," he spoke softly, trying to gain her attention.

"Hi," her breathing was labored. "You came back," she weakly smiled and touched his face with her pale hands. "Is it all over?"

"It is," he grabbed her right hand, trying to comfort her. Times like these, he felt like he acted distant and cold, no one told him how to react to death especially when it came to loved ones. His father never told him personally that he loved him and as for his mother, he had no memories of her. If only someone had told him how to say goodbye, "Hold on, you're going to make it."

"You're lying." A violent cough ragged through her, causing more bleeding.

"Please...don't go...I can't live," he fought with the last words he was trying to say, "without you," his Prussian eyes held a glimmer of hope. "You're the one...I love you." He continued to hold her frigid right hand, squeezing it just to keep her awake. "You trusted me when no one else did."

She looked up at him with the last bit of her strength, "Heero," her voice transitioned into almost inaudible whispers, "I love you too."

"No...don't you dare go...not now." He lifted her into his arms, struggling to keep his tears from streaming down and to keep his nightmare from becoming true.

"You'll always be my Pegasus." She struggled to keep breathing, "Take me back to the lake, will you?"

Heero nodded and lifted her fragile frame off the ground. If was no use for him to stop fate's hands from taking her away, he looked towards the bullet wound and knew it had pierced her left lung. As he carried her, a brief hum drifted towards him, something he never heard before. The angelic notes were soothing and entranced him for awhile, making him forget that the night had ever happened. "Do you know what that was?" She looked up at him.

"No," he focused straight ahead of him, trying to keep his grief from spilling out.

"That was the song I was going to play," another cough ragged inside her, "at my wedding." She played with one of the buttons on his collar, "Canon." Her blue eyes glistened in the darkness along with a hope fading from her heart.

"Relena," he couldn't dare to look her in the eye and quickened his pace towards their final destination. The night's events replayed over and over again in his mind, and he doted on William's statement. It was true...if it wasn't for him, maybe none of this would have happened but who's to say if any of the events were to be repeated. The lake reflected a new aura of white ripples in the distant and his keen eyes picked up the sight. For some reason, the lake knew what was happening after all. "We're here now." He continued to carry her towards the shoreline, "There's a crescent moon still showing," he whispered.

"It would have been a perfect night," she tried to keep the pain from escalating. To keep her mind off the inevitable, she grabbed hold of his hands, "Do you see Pegasus up there?"

His eyes scanned the upper horizons all around, trying to find the familiar box she told him about. _Where are you?_ Then finally in the east, he found the large winged horse still accompanying Andromeda. "There it is," he pointed his fingers in the direction. "The moon's making it a little difficult to find, but he's there."

Relena forced her blue eyes to open and caught a brief glimpse of the mythical creature. "He's beautiful." She raised herself to Heero's face and kissed him one last time. Her cold lips felt his warmth, "We'll meet again...someday." She continued to gaze up at him, trying to hold on whatever time she could.

"Look there, Relena...there's a shooting star crossing Pegasus." His attention was thwarted back to her when he felt her weight back on his arms. Death's cold touch had wiped away the familiar blue hue and left her eyes glasslike. A single tear trickled down on both of his cheeks and their final resting place was on her face. "RELENA!" All of his emotions bottled up were finally released into the early dark morning, thinking that she could still be alive, he pounded on her chest, hoping that it would start her heart, but it was futile. "Don't go," the last pound was the weakest and he withdrew his final attempt. A salty torrent flowed and he pulled her body into his, trying to hold onto what precious memories he had of her.

"Oww," Duo groggily got up from where Heero had bunted the rifle at his head. "I'm going to kill him once I find him." He whistled for his horse to come. For a minute, his surroundings swirled into a vortex of black and rubbed his sore spot, "I'm really going to give him a piece of my mind now," he growled. He clamored onto his horse, ignoring William's body that lay still on the moist ground, and began to search for his renegade friend. In the end, he crossed the trail by the lake and something caught his eye. The way he saw Heero sitting still with Relena on his lap, gave it all away that something terrible had happened. Words didn't come easily to him and so...the comic friend remained quiet and placed his hand onto Heero's shoulder, letting him know that he was there. He cleared his throat, "We should head back. They're all waiting for us." Heero mechanically rose from the ground with her in his arms. His eyes had lost the dark hue in them and were mirrorless in emotions. "I'll take her," Duo offered to help.

"No," a sharp denial came from his best friend. "I'm going to hold onto her."

Seeing there was no use in arguing, Duo thought up another solution, "Why don't you ride on my horse with her then? That way, you won't be easily exhausted." Heero obeyed and slid into the saddle with Relena still in his arms. With that, Duo took control of the reins from the ground and the lead them back to town. It was the one ride that they all wanted to erase from their minds.

The skies began to morph into the early daylight with the town still holding its breath, their final hour of truth arrived. Hilde was the first one to witness the small parade and when her eyes turned towards Heero, her heart sank deep within her chest along with the hope of seeing her best friend alive.

* * *

TBC 

I would like to thank all of my reviewers from last chapter:

Sanoske, Shinchirko and Katsumi: Thanks you three. I'm glad everything worked out for all of you. Thanks for reading. By the time you all read this chapter, you'll be like WHAT! Heero and Relena are one of my favorite couples in GW, but please hang in there for the last chapter...okay?

PureAngelEnchantress: Don't shoot the authoress yet...please...just wait till the last chapter. I know how much you wanted Heero and Relena together. Thanks for your well wishes from chapter 17's review too. And don't worry about reviewing late, it's understandable that we're all busy in our lives. I truly appreciate that you took the time to review.

Ladybug: I think this is the last of my cliffies...hehe...crossing my fingers.

Shao Jiang: Thank you.

Sailor J-chan aka Luna Weasley: Thanks for your input...I'm glad the characters are in-character more...the first time I wrote fanfiction, boy was I off...like my English professor said, "Writing is a never-ending process." As for the imagery, I'm glad you like it...maybe that's why I'm a little wordy at times...lol, but it helps paint a better picture and does more showing than telling. Hopefully I'm improving on that aspect.

Kiri-san, Sanoske-sama, Jaro-chan, Tesume-kun: That's so cute to have your relatives named after the characters especially Heero and Duo. I'm glad that you're all enjoying this fic. By the way, I also loved it how your names correspond to the four seasons...I learn something new everyday. Take care you guys.

Sakura123: Yup, the revelations have finally ended for now...well sort of...there'll be more in the next chapter, but dealing with certain objects (a picture and a necklace)...hint...hint.

Well, I'm off to finish the last chapter...so don't go crazy on me yet! Thanks for reading and please review, thank you. Take care now.


	20. Time's Eternal Embrace

Here it is, the final chapter! Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. 

**Time's Eternal Embrace**

"Katrina..." he tapped his wife on her shoulder, "there's some news from Winfield."

"What?" A look of confusion formed in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"It's about Milliardo and Relena," and paused for a moment, "Milliardo was in a riding accident," his teeth clenched and he didn't know how to break the news to his wife about their daughter.

Katrina quickly diverted her attention, "But what about Relena? What happened to her?" The level of hysteria began to rise in her voice.

He looked directly into her eyes, "We lost her, dear...we lost her," and began to sob uncontrollably.

"NO!" She tore at her hair, driving herself to madness. "It can't be true."

He quickly grabbed her into his arms, trying to console her himself. "Pagan just called us a moment ago, I didn't know how to break it to you."

"I want to go back now," still sobbing and she tried to wipe away the tears from her face.

"Pagan told me that Relena had saved Heero from William."

"Where's that madman...I want to shred him into pieces," she screamed and began to pack furiously.

"Katrina calm yourself down...he was shot down by Duo. Shh now." He tried to console his wife, "I'll have the carriage ready...we'll be there in the afternoon." He left the room leaving his wife alone. Katrina was in a state of confusion, _How could they let him back into town...didn't anyone notice him?_ She walked endlessly in circles, pacing back and forth, racking her brains to all the problems she caused on Relena. She remembered leaving on bad terms with her and now she regretted it for not having the chance to say she loved her. The bitterness choked in her chest and it gave her an uneasy feeling. This was something she wasn't going to forgive herself in a long while. A picture of Relena as a six year old girl stood on her dresser drawer, "My little girl...I'm so sorry that mommy wasn't there," tears cascading in torrents now, "Please forgive me?" and cradled the picture close to her heart hoping that Relena could hear her.

The ride back to Winfield was quiet for the couple and the morning sun looked pale in comparison to the others. Peacecraft held his wife's hand in trying to comfort her and rubbed it lightly, reassuring her that out of the chaos, they'll somehow make it. The carriage finally pulled into the town, but they didn't stop there. Instead, they quickly drove to their summer home, where they would find her resting in state in the living room. Katrina could already see Pagan dressed in funeral attire on the front porch steps and once the carriage came to a halt, she raced out and sobbed into the elderly man's shoulders. "Pagan," she sobbed.

"She's inside with Trudy," he gave the woman a strong hug.

Katrina nodded graciously and tried to dry her tears. The smell of fragrant oils wafted towards her and she knew it was inevitable.

"Hello Mrs. Peacecraft," Trudy came over with a handkerchief in her hands, her eyes weary from crying so hard. "I've dressed Relena in her favorite summer dress, but I'm not to sure what jewelry she'll be wearing, ma'am."

"Thank you, Trudy, I'll take it from here," her pale hands trembled at her sides as she walked into the open room with the curtains slightly drawn. She found her dressed like a porcelain doll in her lilac satin dress with her golden hair curled around her sides. The bruises were covered with a light powder, concealing the pain she went through hours before.

A clank came from behind her and she watched Sally packing her suture kit away in her bag. She had finished the grim task of closing the bullet wound with Trudy's help. The doctor felt her presence and a knot had formed in her stomach, unsure what words could bring about some comfort from losing a child. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mrs. Peacecraft. If you need anything else, please come see me." She nodded mechanically at her polite gesture. The doctor was about to mention about Milliardo's condition, but she didn't dare to and walked out to the front door, where Peacecraft himself was standing.

"How's my son doing?" His eyes looked distant and held a glint that it was all a false dream.

"He's doing well as expected...just some broken ribs," she leaned against the doorframe...the shock of the morning's events caught up to her. "She truly was a fighter."

"She was," and started to sob, "I wished you two could have met under better circumstances."

The doctor nodded solemnly. "Your wife needs you now," she patted his shoulders and walked out onto the sidewalk.

"Dr. Po," he called out, "Thank you." He watched the woman smile back.

"Do you need anything, sir?" Pagan tried to help out the best to his abilities.

"Not really..." he went off onto a tangent, "This can't be really happening, Pagan, she can't be gone...a parent should never have to bury their own children before their time."

The faithful butler stood by his employer's side. "Indeed sir. I never had any children of my own and I can't fathom what it feels like. But, I'm sure she's looking down on us right now."

"It's not fair...she's too young." He collapsed onto his knees, the full brunt of knowing that his only daughter was gone shattered his dreams.

"Milliardo is still with you. Katrina needs to see that," he comforted the politician and took out a lachrymatory from his pocket. "Here take mine." The teardrop glass already contained some salty liquid.

He took it wearily and collected some of his own tears in the small vial. "Thank you, Pagan. We would have been lost without you."

"I'm grateful to serve your family all these years."

The patriarch got up and stepped inside the dim room. He didn't see his wife near their daughter or Trudy anywhere at all. It was the moment he dreaded, but he knew he had to let her go soon. "Hi Princess...Daddy's here. You made me proud all this time." He bent down and kissed her forehead. "Keep Grandpa company now, he'll be glad to see you, but we'll be there soon. I promise...one day we'll all be there." Tears trickled down on his cheeks, but he didn't use the vial to collect them anymore. "Please be good."

Upstairs, Katrina was in her daughter's room, fingering through her jewelry box. Several amethyst pieces lay at the bottom of the small lacquer box. She picked one of them that was chained to a gold cross-linked chain and held it in the faint remorseless sunlight. The purple gem glistened, revealing the forget-me-not engraved on its facet with a single diamond in the middle of the flower. "My darling baby..." a memory of Relena's fifteenth birthday came to her...it was the gift she had given her daughter that day. "I'm so sorry for not listening to you all this time. This is all of my fault, if only..." She collapsed onto the bed, whimpering softly so she couldn't be heard and held the gem close to her heart. In that moment, she realized the chain of events she had set off and her own cursed perseverance was to blame. "If only I can take it back," she cried out, not knowing if anyone else heard her. Several minutes passed as she dazed onto the ceiling, watching the sunlight embrace the darkest corners of the bedroom walls. It was then she had finally decided what her final act for her daughter would be to ease her own heart, but it would have to wait. She went back to the jewelry box and pulled a whimsical brooch out, showing a crescent gold moon entwined with a horse carrying a forget-me-not in its mouth. With the piece in her hands, she went back to her daughter's body and pinned the object over her left side. "Go to Pegasus and fly." Her husband watched from a corner and came to her side. "I've lost her dear and I can't take it back," she sobbed.

He embraced her, "We lost one child...we can't lose the other...not now." She knew what he was talking about and remained quiet. "Besides we're grandparents," he tried to offer a new glimmer of hope into her darkest hour. She sobbed into his shoulder and realized she needed to let Milliardo back.

"I've been the fool here...all this time," she pounded into his chest.

He continued to run his hands down her back, "Shh now."

Unaware to the both of them, Milliardo had hobbled his way up to the front door, still defying Sally's orders of staying in bed for at least a day after his fall. Behind him, Noin cradled their infant son and walked up to the doorway. "Hello...mother...father," he gently spoke in a low voice.

"Milliardo," his father looked over towards his son, while his wife tried to rub away her tears.

"I tried to save her," defeat was in his blue eyes.

"We know you tried," his father hugged him. "Thank you."

Milliardo felt his mother's eyes were directed at him, and he remained close by Noin in case any anger was unleashed towards his own wife.

"Is that my grandson?" Her first words broke down one barrier. Noin instinctively held the child close to her chest.

"Yes he is...he's three months old now." He eyed her suspiciously, but with all of the events that happened on the prior night, he knew that it was killing her inside. He motioned for Lu to come over with their baby and he took him from his mother's embrace.

"He looks like you, Lucrezia." For the first time, bitter words weren't released from her lips and she felt a great weight was lifted from her shoulders. She took the other woman's delicate hands, "I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

Lucrezia was left speechless...the three words she so desperately wanted to hear years before finally came. Instead of words, she took the frail woman into her arms and embraced her. "Thank you." It was at that moment, layers of distrust and bitterness finally vanished between the two women.

Heero remained locked in his bedroom ever since his return from the woods. A gray cloud of disbelief hung over him, keeping him in a dazed state. Moments of her running to push him away from the fatal bullet that took her own life constantly plagued his weakened mind. _It should have been me. It should have been me._ He looked down onto his rustic crimson shirt, the darken color tormented him.

"Heero?" A knock came from his door. "Hilde made some soup for you." Duo tried to open the door, "You need to eat something...you can't do this to yourself." He called out and fumbled with the small brass knob.

"Leave me alone," the monotone voice was defiant and he threw a porcelain bowl towards the door, displacing his anger to his friend.

Duo placed the tray on the floor and pretended to walk away. He then went with a sprint and slammed into the door, nearly breaking one of the hinges off. "Look, you can't kill yourself and this isn't helping anyone out," he yelled back. "Hilde made you some soup and eat it."

"I won't." He sat in his chair with his cold stare gazing back.

"You leave me no choice then," his friend walked right in front of him and took his riding gloves out. Without a moment's hesitation, he sent the leather fabric straight across Heero's face, making sure that the smack was hard. "Relena wouldn't like seeing you in this state."

The force of the blow left a red streak on his right cheek. "It's not like I wanted her to die...I was supposed to protect her!" He stood up ready to strike his friend. Duo braced himself and stared into the Prussian eyes ahead of him, but instead, he heard sobs coming in front of him. "It's not fair...it's not fair."

"Nothing in life is fair, Heero, it never is nor will it ever be." He took out a lachrymatory from his pocket, "I thought you might need this." Heero already knew what it was for, but he didn't use it. He didn't want the mourning period for her to end at all, nothing could be measured by the amount of tears that he would cry for her. "You can use if you want...it's just that it might help ease the pain." He went out in the hallway and grabbed the tray off the floor, "Now eat...Pagan has informed me that the funeral will be tomorrow." With that, he left his friend to grieve on his own terms.

"What happened up there?" Hilde emerged from the kitchen looking worried.

"I needed to put some sense into him...that's all," he shrugged and felt a pain in his shoulders.

"Will he be okay?" She could see that he was determined to help his friend get his life back.

"I think he will, just give him time." He held Hilde close to his arms, reminding him that he was lucky to have her now in this moment.

* * *

The somber day came with summer taking in her last breath. The Peacecrafts had opened their home to whoever remained in the town and were greeted with a flood of condolences. Duo and Hilde remained in the living room, trying to comprehend how one man can do some much damage. Heero was there somwhere, trying to avoid everyone at any costs. He sought refuge in the glass gardens, where the roses were still thriving and sat by the indoor fountain. It was there he took out the lachrymatory that Duo had given him and a slow trickle of tears came about when he heard someone walking towards him. He quickly stashed the vial into his vest's pocket. 

"Hello, Heero." A woman called to him.

"Mrs. Peacecraft," he quickly regained his composure and tried to say something that would sound coherent. By the look in her eyes, he could tell that she knew he was crying. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her...she was the one that saved me instead."

"No need for that, you did so much for Relena and I can't say enough. I've learned from my errors and now I'm paying for them." She sat next to him and adjusted her black cotton dress, the way that Relena would do with any dress of hers. "I have something for you," she went through her matching purse and pulled out a small red velvet pouch. He gingerly took the small pouch and opened it, revealing the amethyst gem engraved with the forget-me-not on its purple surface. "She would have wanted you to have it, I'm sure of it."

"I can't take this," he tried handing the jewelry piece back to her.

"I insist," she clasped his hands onto the gem. "You would have made a great son-in-law, no doubt. Losing Relena finally made me see it." The same blue eyes reflected in his eyes.

"Thank you." He offered his arm out to Katrina and escorted her back to her guests. They both waited for the reverend to start the service and before long, a procession emerged from the mansion with the oak coffin carrying her body. The group arrived at Winfield's single cemetery with several family plots and they proceeded towards the back, where the Peacecraft lineage started with Relena's paternal grandfather. With everything in order, the reverend gave one more solemn passage and she was laid into the soft earth to rest in eternal slumber. Everyone said their goodbyes and passed by her grave single filed. In the end, Duo and Hilde threw a bouquet of lilies down into the plot, hoping to give Relena some peace and they then left. Heero was the only one that remained by her side and he felt a breeze run by him. His Prussian eyes stared at the sight before him and he felt his throat muscles going rigid. The quietness sent chills up his spine, but he continued to gaze upon her grave, "We'll meet again, my love." He walked out onto the dirt road, making sure that he would take the long way home. At that moment, he felt that she was watching him and the afternoon sun offered a flicker of hope that his wish will come true.

* * *

How strange time hides the past, while it also alludes to the present. Winfield had seen better days, even though the two World Wars had struck a deadly blow to the male population. But still, time mends everything and calls for change. The Peacecrafts had entirely left Winfield behind, trying to bury their darker days with Katrina making the first move. A move no one expected, but it was a wise choice just right before the Great Depression touched the small town. From that point, the surname was lost in time, never to resurface unless someone dared to search. The grand home rotted with its Corinthian columns crumbling at the foundations and windows were cracked from top to bottom. Even the enclosed glass garden suffered with its dried rose bushes that recessed to the darkest corner of their heat-laden tomb in the summers. And so, the majestic parties were a figment of the past, but some say they still hear music drifting over the lake. A haunting melody that sang the sadness of a future unfulfilled. Yet, one remained and raised a family... hoping that a new history will begin. 

"Mom, where did you place the box with all of my school books? I can't find it." Mira shouted from her room's closet.

"It should be on the top shelf, I remember placing it there. Why would you need your books? It's summer!" Her mom continued to stir a batch of cookie dough, not knowing the mess her daughter was making.

She rummaged through the top and found the box that she was looking for. As she moved her hands towards the back of box, she inadvertently scrapped against a loose board and knocked it free. "Ouch," and tumbled towards the floor along with the box of her books.

"Are you all right, Mira?" Her mother shouted from the kitchen below.

"I'm fine, Mom." She got up and cleared the dust from her pants and shirt. Curiosity intrigued her to go back to the site and she reached into the hole, pulling out a tin box. She carefully removed the layers of dust on top and pulled at the tight metallic lid. Inside, she saw a red velvet pouch and before long, she saw the amethyst gem. "Whoa...who would leave something like this here?" The gem played with the sunlight and it came to life...finally waking from its slumber of more than a hundred years of loneliness.

"What on earth are you doing?" Her mom looked appalled at her daughter's closet in disarray.

"I found this in the closet," showing her mom the gem. "Can I please keep it? Please?"

"I don't know," her mom gave her a funny look, "Maybe you should post it on the Internet or something...maybe the former owner was looking for it. I know you can put it on eBay."

"MOM!" She stammered.

"I was just kidding...I don't know...well," she looked at her daughter's eyes, "Okay, but if someone is looking for that necklace, you'll have to give it back. Deal?"

"Deal." She hugged her mother. "By the way, do you know where stashed my telescope?"

Her mom just gawked at her daughter's room, "I'm not telling until you until you clean this mess you made. Less than one hour in this house and you're already tearing it apart."

"Why do we have to be back here?" Odin called from the back passenger's seat of their family's Lexus, bored out of his own mind.

"You know son, I thought you would have some respect for your elders," his father shouted out to him, trying to keep his attention on the winding road. "Winfield is a nice quiet town here...and your grandfather loved it."

"Hmph." He placed his cap on his face, trying to fall asleep as the car drove on the never-ending bumpy road. After three minutes of pure pothole ridden jolts, he gave up his elusive habit and stared out into the open window. He muttered something that blended with the breeze, "Why now of all the times?" He slumped back in his seat and tried to make what was best of the situation. A year before, he lost his mother to leukemia and the smell of the hospital sickened his stomach. But he remembered how his grandfather took him in and told their family history. He continued to stare into the surrounding, trying to hold back the tears that were ready to break free.

"Oh look, there's his place right now...I hope you remembered." The car pulled up onto the long winding driveway. Before long, the two were standing beneath the Corinthian columns.

A lawyer emerged in a gray suit, "You must be the Yuys."

Odin's father shook the man's hands, "Yes we are."

"It seems like your father left a few possessions for you along with the house as you may be well aware of." The man went back inside and pulled out a small box, "That must be Odin over there?" The father nodded.

"What does grandfather want with me?" His eyes looked distant and wanted to be somewhere else.

"Odin knock it off, your grandfather cared about you greatly...he even paid your way for private school."

The lawyer tried to ignore the family fight and cleared his throat, "Well Odin, my boy, in his will he gave this to you...enjoy." Odin took it making sure he said thanks and went around to the back porch, ignoring the conversation his dad struck with the sixty-year old man.

"Of course I'm grateful for what he did, but I just wish people would stop treating me as if I was six again." He ripped at the sides of the sealed box and opened it.

"So what did your grandfather leave you?" His father was curious and leaned against one of the wooden posts.

"I don't know yet," the boy looked into the deep box and pulled a few personal objects like the brown tinted teardrop vial that still contained what look like some liquid in it along with a worn out photograph dated from 1896. "Who's this?"

"I remember him showing me that picture...I think it was a girlfriend of your great-great-grandfather...Relena somebody...can't recall the last name." He rubbed his chin and his Prussian eyes caught the glint of the late afternoon sunlight.

"Did he marry her?" His eyes lit up with curiosity to see if the story played out.

"Unfortunately not...there was something terrible that happened that year...she died in his arms. I don't know why your grandfather would keep this, but then again...its family history. He knew how much you loved history."

"I sure miss him and mom too."

"Me too," he hugged his son, "But we're here aren't we? You still have me."

"I know that dad. I'm sorry if I've been a pain lately...everything's too complicated."

"Being a teenager is complicated all the time...we all go through that phase. I did the rebellion thing too you know." He winked at him. "Oh look at the time, it's almost dinner...I can go to the town's diner and pick up something. How about some hamburgers?"

"That sounds fine with me." He re-thought about something, "Do you mind if I stay out a little before I come home...I just want to walk a little."

"I don't see why not," his father patted him on his son's shoulders. "Just don't fall into the lake. You sure gave gramps a run for his money when you were five."

"Haha...very funny." The fifteen-year-old sauntered off into the midsummer evening and made his way to the lake. On his way there, he pulled out the bronze tinted photo of Relena, which showed her wearing the amethyst necklace. "Great-great-grandpa sure must have loved her to pass this picture on."

"Einstein give me back that finder scope," Mira chased after her Jack Russell terrier. The perky dog thought it was a game of monkey in the middle to a certain degree. "Please, I have a biscuit with your name on it." The three-year-old refused and dodged her at all costs and bounded into the woods. She continued to adjust her telescope and made sure the base wasn't too loose on the uneven ground. As she was tightening a bolt, she heard Einstein a few meters away, barking at something. "I wonder what that crazy dog is up to now."

"Nice boy...stay," Odin tried to keep his footing otherwise he would end up the end lake.

"Here boy, Einstein," Mira called out to him, trying to get her dog back by her side. She walked up to the two of them, "He's usually friendly."

"Hn." He was unsure about her last remark.

"Einstein, sit!" The dog refused and dropped the finder scope onto the ground and charged at the stranger. "Bad dog," she restrained him by the collar. "Are you all right?" She looked to where the boy had fallen in and made sure Einstein was behind her.

"I've been worse," he spat some water out and clamored to the edge, trying to hold onto whatever he could.

"Here let me help you up," she tied her sandy blonde hair back and grabbed his hands.

"It's you," he whispered, remembering the necklace from the picture.

"Excuse me?" She was taken aback at his statement. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head"  
"Never mind." He finally pulled himself out of the water with her help. "Thanks."

"I think I might have a blanket over there, stay right here." she walked back to her telescope and rummaged through the box, pulling out a light towel instead. He followed her anyhow and watched her. She nearly bumped into him, "Oops...sorry." Her blue eyes flashed in the early periwinkle twilight and she handed him the towel.

"Stargazing?" He looked at the setup.

"Yeah...just a hobby," she looked at Einstein, who picked up the finder scope again. "Einstein," she pointed at the dog and he finally obeyed, dropping the metallic object onto the floor.

"He's sure protective of you," and noticed that the dog had his tail still wagging a mile a minute.

"Sure is," she knelt down and placed the black object onto her telescope. "Do you like to stargaze?"

"Me? Just a little with my Grandpa before...he always focused on Pegasus." He looked up at the night sky.

"Really," she smiled at him. "Well it seems we have a common interest."

"I guess we do," he smiled back.

"And you are?" She continued to work on her telescope, adding another piece with Einstein's drool all over it.

"Odin Yuy," he meekly smiled. "You?"

"Mira Darlian."

Odin felt something jabbing in his pockets and pulled out the teardrop vial. He looked at it and noticed that the liquid had dried up. "Strange."

"What is?" Her curious blue eyes looked at the engraved glass. "That looks like a lachrymatory." He looked speechless. "They used to be famous back in the Victorian age and were used during funerals to help ease the mourning period of a loved one. Mourners would collect their tears into small glass vials and keep them corked. They say that once the liquid dried up, the mourning period is over."

His jaw just dropped after her brief history lesson and was amazed that she knew about this. "Well I guess the mourning period is over for someone then." He was about to the chuck the vial into the lake, but decided to keep it as a keepsake of his family's history. Above them, the night sky started to reveal her masterpieces and right then, Pegasus came into view. "Would look at that, there's Pegasus after all."

Mira looked up to the vast charcoal canvas and saw the horse in flight. The forget-me-not captured some of the twilight and radiated the soft beauty of the purple gem. She felt Odin's eyes staring at her, her face filled with a brief moment of heat. She pretended not to pay attention to him, but she felt his hands clasp into hers and surrendered into his grip. They both felt something had driven them to this night. "It feels like we met before," she whispered.

"Maybe" he pondered on the thought, "in another lifetime."

"It's about time you finally showed, Heero." Relena waited patiently at the large oak they used to sit under. Her brooch glowed in the moonlight.

His ghost materialized out of the pitch-blackness. "I needed to wander." He pulled her to his side and kissed her under the moonlight. They watched Mira and Odin stare at Pegasus. "They'll make it."

Relena nodded and felt despair in her heart that her dream couldn't be fulfilled in the mortal world, "Let's finally go home, shall we?" She felt Heero's hands squeeze her own and the couple walked by the lake's edge, disappearing in the moonlight's beam that rippled on the waterfront, taking one last glimpse of what their future could have been. But with eternity on their hands, they knew fate was on their side all the time.

* * *

The End 

A/N: Here's something interesting- in the Victorian era, jewelry pieces were whimsical and related to nature...i.e. birds, butterflies, and horses to name a few. As for the forget-me-nots, they symbolize true love. Well it's been great writing this fanfic and I truly appreciated all of your comments and critiques. Hope to hear from some of you...well I'm off to ACen.

Sanoske & Ryo

Kiri-san, Sanoske-sama, Jaro-chan & Tesume-kun

Shinchirko & Katsumi

Wing

Lay Hime

Moonlight Twilight

PureAngelEnchantress

Liv Dev G

neko56

Sakura123

Ladybug


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